Polypeptides and Immunizing Compositions Containing Gram Positive Polypeptides and Methods of Use

ABSTRACT

The present invention provides isolated polypeptides isolatable from a  Staphylococcus  spp. Also provided by the present invention are compositions that include one or more of the polypeptides, and methods for making and methods for using the polypeptides.

CONTINUING APPLICATION DATA

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/652,843, filed Feb. 14, 2005, which is incorporated by reference herein.

BACKGROUND

Gram-positive bacteria are a remarkably diverse group of organisms that cause a variety of diseases in both humans and animals. Some of the pathogens recognized as important in human and/or animal health include bacteria belonging to the families of Corynebacteriaceae, Enterococcacae, Micrococcaceae, Mycobacteriaceae, Nocardiaceae, and Peptococcaceae, which include such bacterial species as Actinomyces spp., Bifidobacterium spp., Corynebacterium spp., Enterococcus spp., Erysipelothrix spp., Eubacterium spp., Kytococcus spp., Lactobacillus spp., Micrococcus spp., Mobiluncus spp., Mycobacteria spp., Peptostreptococcus spp., Propionibacterium spp., and Staphylococcus spp. These pathogens cause a multitude of clinical manifestations in many different animal species. The treatment for such infections has historically been antibiotics that attack the common structures and functions of gram-positive organisms. However, many of the more ubiquitous gram-positive organisms have developed resistance to several classes of antibiotics, making treatment of infections difficult. The widespread use of antibiotics in the treatment of bacterial diseases in both humans and food production animals is likely a major contributing factor in the proliferation of antibiotic-resistant strains of many species of gram-positive organisms. Therefore, there is a great need to find different treatments that prevent or eliminate infections by gram-positive organisms in animals as well as humans.

Staphylococcal Infections in Agricultural Animals

In the agricultural industry a number of important diseases are caused by gram-positive organisms. Examples of clinical conditions caused by gram positive bacterial infections include, mastitis, septicemia, pneumonia, osteomyelitis, meningoencephalitis, lymphangitis, dermatitis, genital tract infections, metritis, perinatal disease, pituitary abscesses, arthritis, bursitis, orchitis, cystitis and pyelonephritis, caseous lymphadenitis, tuberculosis, ulcerative lymphangitis, erysipelas, laminitis, tyzzer's disease, tetanus, botulism, enteritis, malignant edema, braxy, bacillary hemoglobinuria, enterotoxemia. Staphylococcus spp., in particular, are capable of infecting many different species of agricultural animals and can cause enormous economic losses. For example, the United States dairy industry is estimated to lose approximately $185 per cow annually due to mastitis, a disease often caused by Staphylococcus aureus. Since there are 9.5 million head of milking cows in the U.S., the annual cost of mastitis is approximately $1.8 billion. This is approximately 10% of the total value of farm milk sales, and about two-thirds of this loss is due to reduced milk production in sub-clinically infected cows. Other losses are due to discarded abnormal milk and milk withheld from cows treated with antibiotic, costs of early replacement of affected cows, reduced sale value of culled cows, costs of drugs and veterinary services, and increased labor costs. In addition to its prevalence within the bovine dairy industry, mastitis caused by gram-positive cocci is also common among goats and sheep. Additional animal diseases caused by S. aureus include botryomycosis in horses, purulent synovitis and osteomyelitis in poultry, snuffles in rabbits, abortions in swine, and tick pyemia in lambs. Other species of staphylococci are major skin pathogens of canine (S. intermedius) and swine (S. hycius). In poultry species, staphylococcal pathogens cause endorcarditis and septicemia.

Staphylococcal Infections in Humans

Staphylococcus spp. are also human pathogens causing a wide variety of infections. The species Staphylococcus aureus, a common colonizer of human mucosa and skin, is an opportunistic pathogen that can cause diverse human infections. For example, S. aureus is the causative agent of several skin infections, including impetigo, furunculosis, cellulitus, and scalded skin syndrome, as well as potentially fatal post-surgical wound infections. In addition, the exposure of immunocompromised individuals to S. aureus in hospital settings has resulted in organ infections such as pneumonia, urinary tract infections, osteomyelitis, arthritis, bacteremia, and endocarditis. S. aureus is also the causative agent of toxinoses, most notably toxic shock syndrome and food poisoning. Food, poisoning caused by the staphylococcal enterotoxin B is the most common cause of food-borne illness, surpassing even salmonellosis, campylobacteriosis and listeriosis. Other species of staphylococci also cause human disease; S. epidermidis, S. haemolyticus and S. hominis commonly infect implanted medical devices and S. saprophyticus is associated with urinary tract infections in women.

Virulence Mechanisms of Staphylococci

Staphylococci infect a variety of host tissues and evade the immune system through the production of several types of secreted proteins, surface expressed virulence factors and metabolic systems designed for survival amidst the limited resources and active defenses associated with the host environment. Colonization is the necessary first step in establishing infection; numerous factors including capsule, lipoteichoic acid, and teichoic acid are common structural components contributing to colonization. In addition, surface proteins such as staphylococcal fibronectin-binding protein and bone-sialoprotein binding proteins specifically bind host tissue components. Toxins are commonly produced among staphylococcal pathogens and are highly damaging; several human diseases, including food poisoning, toxic shock syndrome and exfoliative skin conditions, are the direct result of extracellular secreted toxin proteins. A single isolate may encode genes for 20-30 different secreted toxins. Some of the secreted protein products are superantigens that can bind nonspecifically to the MHC class II molecule of an antigen-presenting cell and, simultaneously, to the T-cell receptor of a T cell. The binding induces T cell signaling and leads to the release of high levels of proinflammatory factors, ultimately inducing host damage due to the overwhelming immune response. Another class of virulence factors expressed on the surface disguise the bacteria from the host immune system. For example, the S. aureus surface-expressed Protein A inhibits opsonization and phagocytosis by binding of the Fc component of host antibody. Numerous proteases, hemolysins (alpha, beta, gamma and delta), nucleases, lipases, hyaluronidase, and collagenase also aid bacteria in extracting nutrients from surrounding cells and protecting them against host defenses.

Antibiotic Resistance Among Staphylococci

The CDC estimates that each year nearly 2 million people in the United States acquire a nosocomial infection, resulting in 90,000 deaths annually. Of these fatal infections, 70% are caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria. The increase in antibiotic-resistance among microbial species is particularly pronounced in skin and mucosal colonizers such as S. aureus. For example, the vast majority of S. aureus isolated from hospital settings are resistant to penicillin, and 50% are also resistant to the semisynthetic penicillins, such as methicillin, nafcillin, and oxacillin. These isolates, referred to as MRSA (methicillin resistant S. aureus) were first seen in the 1970s, and are now firmly established in hospital settings. Recently there have been several cases of MRSA infections in the community, where the infected individuals had no previous exposure to hospitals or healthcare workers. This alarming trend is intensified by the isolation of MRSA isolates that are less susceptible to vancomycin, a glycopeptide used to treat MRSA. Very few strains have been shown to be truly resistant to vancomycin according to the CDC's definition of vancomycin resistance, but several MRSA strains have been characterized as consisting of subpopulations with reduced susceptibility to vancomycin, or VISA (vancomycin intermediate S. aureus). Since the isolation of vancomycin resistant and vancomycin intermediate strains is a relatively new development, there is little data concerning their prevalence in hospitals and/or the community. Occasionally, VRSA (vancomycin resistant S. aureus) with full resistance to vancomycin and carrying a resistance plasmid likely acquired from Enterococcus spp. have also been recovered from humans.

Strategies for the Prevention and Treatment of Staphylococcus Infections

The emergence of numerous gram-positive pathogens that are resistant to multiple antibiotics has fueled research efforts aimed at developing preventative vaccines to protect against disease. Vaccines are designed to be administered to patients in order to elicit a long-term memory response from the immune system, so that if the pathogen is encountered at a future time, the immune system can more quickly and efficiently clear the pathogen. To date, a broadly-protective vaccine against gram-positive pathogens associated with a number of severe human diseases, particularly those disease associated with staphylococcal infections, is not available. Vaccine development approaches for the prevention of staphylococcal infections include those reporting the use of microbial surface components recognizing adhesion matrix molecules [MSCRAMMS (Nilsson et al. 1998. J Clin Invest 101:2640-9; Menzies et al. 2002. J Infect Dis 185:937-43; Fattom et al. 2004. Vaccine 22:880-7], surface polysaccharides (McKenney et al. 2000; McKenney et al. 1999. Science 284:1523-7; Maira-Litran et al. 2002. Infect Immun 70:4433-40; Maira-Litran et al. 2004. Vaccine 22:872-9; Maira-Litran et al. 2005. Infect Immun 73:6752-62) and mutated exoproteins (Lowell et al. 1996. Infect Immun 64:4686-93; Stiles et al. 2001. Infect Immun 69:2031-6; Gampfer et al. 2002. Vaccine 20:3675-84), as antigens in subunit vaccine compositions, as well as one live avirulent strain (Reinoso et al. 2002. Can J Vet Res 66:285-8) and several DNA vaccine approaches (Ohwada et al. 1999. J Antimicrob Chemother 44:767-74); Brouillette et al. 2002. Vaccine 20:2348-57; Senna et al. 2003. Vaccine 21:2661-6). Although many of these compositions have shown some degree of protection, they have achieved little cross-protection against diverse staphylococcal strains and have additionally failed to elicit substantial immune responses in immunocompromised patients, an important at-risk population for nosocomial infections.

The most severe staphylococcal diseases are those mediated by the aforementioned supernantigenic pyrogenic ex otoxins (SPEs) that nonspecifically stimulate T-cells independent of antigen presentation. Such diseases include toxic shock syndrome, exfoliative skin disease, and possibly Kawasaki syndrome. For these SPE-mediated diseases, immunotherapeutic agents that boost the immune system during an active infection are often more effective than vaccines, which are typically administered prior to infection. The overwhelming nature of the immune response to SPE necessitates rapid reduction in toxin activity as the first objective in therapy. To date, toxin neutralization in S. aureus-mediated disease has been most effectively accomplished by the administration of intravenous human immunoglobulin (IVIG), a purified, concentrated human antibody preparation from several thousand human donors (Takei et al. 1993. J Clin Invest 91:602-7; Stohl and Elliot. 1996. Clin Immunol Immunopathol 79:122-33). The widespread distribution of S. aureus, which colonizes approximately 30% of healthy human adults, coincides with high exposure rates for the majority of the population, so the level of anti-staphylococcal anti-toxin antibodies in IVIG is often sufficient to neutralize toxin long enough to stabilize the immune response until the bacterial load is reduced with antibiotics (Schlievert, 2001. J Allergy Clin Immunol 108(4 Suppl):S107-110). IVIG preparations from multiple manufacturers have been shown to neutralize toxin in proliferation assays with human peripheral blood mononuclear cells, inhibit toxin-induced human T cell-driven B cell differentiation in vitro (Stohl and Elliot. 1996. Clin Immunol Immunopathol 79:122-33; Stohl and Elliott. 1995. J Immunol 155:1838-50; Stohl et al. 1994. J Immunol 153:117-27) and reduce IL-4 and IL-2 secretion in PBMCs stimulated with staphylococcal enterotoxin B (Takei et al. 1993. J Clin Invest 91:602-7; Darenberg et al. 2004. Clin Infect Dis 38:836-42). IVIG therapy, with its proven ability to neutralize SPE, is now a recommended therapy for Kawasaki syndrome and is gaining favor as a treatment method for staphylococcal toxic shock syndrome (Schlievert 2001. J Allergy Clin Immunol 108(4 Suppl):S107-110). Use of IVIG as an immunoprotective wound lavage during surgery has also been investigated in mice (Poelstra et al. 2000. Tissue Eng 6(4):401-411). Although standard IVIG has utility for limiting the advance of some staphylococcal SPE-mediated disease, the safety, efficacy and consistency of human IVIG preparations generated from thousands of unselected human donors remains controversial (Baker et al. 1992. N Engl J Med 327:213-9; Miller et al. 2001. J Allergy Clin Immunol 108:S91-4; Sacher, 2001. J Allergy Clin Immunol 108:S139-46; Darenberg et al. 2004. Clin Infect Dis 38:836-42). Furthermore, the benefit of IVIG in preventing some staphylococcal infections is doubtful (Baker et al. 1992. N Engl J Med 327:213-9; Hill, H. R. 2000. J Pediatr 137:595-7; Darenberg et al. 2004. Clin Infect Dis 38:836-42). In order to increase the effectiveness of IVIG in treating staphylococcal infections in certain at-risk populations, a plasma-derived, donor-selected, polyclonal anti-staphylococcal human IgG with high titers of antibody directed toward the staphylococcal MSCRAMMS clumping factor A (ClfA) and fibrinogen-binding protein G (SdrG) was created and tested with success in very low birthweight infants to prevent staphylococcal sepsis (Vernachio et al. 2003. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 47:3400-6; Bloom et al. 2005. Pediatr Infect Dis J 24:858-866; Capparelli et al. 2005. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 49:4121-7). A specific humanized monoclonal antibody toward the S. aureus MSCRAMM Clumping factor A, is also being developed. The antibody was selected from a pool of thousands of murine anti-ClfA antibodies for its ability to bind ClfA in a manner that abrogates S. aureus binding to human fibronectin and was subsequently humanized by mutating specific targeted residues to mimic the homologous human germline subgroup antibody (Hall et al. 2003. Infect Immun 71:6864-70; Domanski et al. 2005. Infect Immun 73:5229-32). The specific antibody is being designed for use in conjunction with antibiotics for the treatment of severe life-threatening S. aureus infection, although animal studies also demonstrated a prophylactic protective effect.

SUMMARY

The present invention provides compositions including two or more isolated polypeptides. The two isolated polypeptides may have a JO molecular weight of 88 kDa, 55 kDa, 38 kDa, 37 kDa, 36 kDa, 35 kDa, 33 kDa, or a combination thereof. For instance, a composition may include isolated proteins of 88 kDa and 55 kDa. In some aspects the composition may include isolated polypeptides having molecular weights of 88 kDa, 55 kDa, 38 kDa, 37 kDa, 36 kDa, 35 kDa, and 33 kDa. The molecular weight is determined by electrophoresis on a sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel. The polypeptides are isolatable from a Staphylococcus aureus when incubated in media including an iron chelator and not isolatable when grown in the media without the iron chelator. The composition protects an animal, such as a mouse or cow or human, against challenge with an S. aureus strain, for instance ATCC strain 19636. The composition may further include a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier, and may further include an isolated polypeptide having a molecular weight of 150 kDa, 132 kDa, 120 kDa, 75 kDa, 58 kDa, 50 kDa, 44 kDa, 43 kDa, 41 kDa, 40 kDa, or a combination thereof, and isolatable from a S. aureus when grown in the media without the iron chelator. In some aspects the polypeptides of the composition may be isolated from S. aureus ATCC strain 19636.

The present invention also provides methods for using the compositions. In one aspect the method is for treating in infection in a subject, and includes administering an effective amount of a composition of the present invention to a subject having or at risk of having an infection caused by a Staphylococcus spp. In another aspect, the method is for treating a symptom in a subject, and it includes administering an effective amount of a composition of the present invention to a subject having an infection caused by a Staphylococcus spp. The subject may be a mammal, such as a human, horse, or cow. The Staphylococcus spp. may be S. aureus.

The present invention further provides methods for using antibody, for instance, polyclonal antibody, that specifically binds polypeptides of the present invention. In one aspect, the method is for treating an infection in a subject, and includes administering an effective amount of a composition to a subject having or at risk of having an infection caused by a Staphylococcus spp., wherein the composition includes antibody that specifically binds two isolated polypeptides of the present invention. In another aspect, the method is for treating a symptom in a subject, and includes administering an effective amount of a composition to a subject having an infection caused by a Staphylococcus spp., wherein the composition includes antibody that specifically binds two isolated polypeptides of the present invention. The subject may be a mammal, such as a human, horse, or cow. The Staphylococcus spp. may be S. aureus.

Also provided by the present invention are methods for decreasing colonization in a subject. In one aspect, the method includes administering an effective amount of a composition of the present invention to a subject colonized by a Staphylococcus spp. In another aspect, the method includes administering an effective amount of a composition to a subject colonized by Staphylococcus spp., wherein the composition includes antibody that specifically binds two isolated polypeptides of the present invention.

The present invention provides a kit for detecting antibody that specifically binds a polypeptide. The kit includes, in separate containers, an isolated polypeptide of the present invention, and a reagent that detects an antibody that specifically binds the polypeptide.

The present invention further provides a composition including two isolated polypeptides having molecular weights selected from 88 kDa, 55 kDa, 38 kDa, 37 kDa, 36 kDa, 35 kDa, and 33 kDa, wherein molecular weight is determined by electrophoresis on a sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel. Each polypeptide of the composition has a mass fingerprint of at least 80% similarity to a mass fingerprint of a polypeptide of the same molecular weight polypeptide expressed by Staphylococcus aureus ATCC strain 19636, wherein the polypeptide is isolatable from a Staphylococcus aureus when incubated in media comprising an iron chelator and not isolatable when grown in the media without the iron chelator. For instance, the isolated polypeptide with a molecular weight of 88 kDa has a mass fingerprint of at least 80% similarity to a mass fingerprint of a 88 kDa polypeptide expressed by Staphylococcus aureus ATCC strain 19636, and the isolated polypeptide with a molecular weight of 55 kDa has a mass fingerprint of at least 80% similarity to a mass fingerprint of a 55 kDa polypeptide expressed by Staphylococcus aureus ATCC strain 19636.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1. The electrophoretic profile of the proteins of different strains Staphylococcus aureus derived from different species grown with and without iron (lanes marked Fe++ and DP, respectively).

FIG. 2. The difference in mortality between vaccinated and non-vaccinated mice after homologous and heterologous challenge with Staphylococcus aureus.

FIG. 3. Kaplan-Meier survival curve showing percent survival after vaccination and homologous challenge with S. aureus ATCC 19636.

FIG. 4. Kaplan-Meier survival curve showing percent survival after vaccination and heterologous challenge with S. aureus ATCC 19636.

FIG. 5. The Kaplan-Meier survival curve showing percent survival after passive immunization and homologous challenge with S. aureus ATCC 19636.

FIG. 6. The Kaplan-Meier survival curve showing percent survival after passive immunization and heterologous challenge with S. aureus strain 1477.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides polypeptides and compositions including polypeptides. As used herein, “polypeptide” refers to a polymer of amino acids linked by peptide bonds. Thus, for example, the terms peptide, oligopeptide, protein, and enzyme are included within the definition of polypeptide. This term also includes post-expression modifications of the polypeptide, such as glycosylations, acetylations, phosphorylations, and the like. The term polypeptide does not connote a specific length of a polymer of amino acids. A polypeptide may be isolatable directly from a natural source, or can be prepared with the aid of recombinant, enzymatic, or chemical techniques. In the case of a polypeptide that is naturally occurring, such a polypeptide is typically isolated. An “isolated” polypeptide is one that has been removed from its natural environment. For instance, an isolated polypeptide is a polypeptide that has been removed from the cytoplasm or from the membrane of a cell, and many of the polypeptides, nucleic acids, and other cellular material of its natural environment are no longer present. An “isolatable” polypeptide is a polypeptide that could be isolated from a particular source. A “purified” polypeptide is one that is at least 60% free, preferably at least 75% free, and most preferably at least 90% free from other components with which they are naturally associated. Polypeptides that are produced outside the organism in which they naturally occur, e.g., through chemical or recombinant means, are considered to be isolated and purified by definition, since they were never present in a natural environment. As used herein, a “polypeptide fragment” refers to a portion of a polypeptide that results from digestion of a polypeptide with a protease. Unless otherwise specified, “a,” “an,” “the,” and “at least one” are used interchangeably and mean one or more than one. The terms “comprises” and variations thereof do not have a limiting meaning where these terms appear in the description and claims.

A polypeptide of the present invention may be characterized by molecular weight, mass fingerprint, or the combination thereof. The molecular weight of a polypeptide, typically expressed in kilodaltons (kDa), can be determined using routine methods including, for instance, gel filtration, gel electrophoresis including sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE), capillary electrophoresis, mass spectrometry, and liquid chromatography including HPLC. Preferably, molecular weight is determined by resolving a polypeptide using an SDS polyacrylamide gel having a stacking gel of about 4% and a resolving gel of about 10% under reducing and denaturing conditions. Unless indicated otherwise, molecular weight refers to molecular weight as determined by SDS-PAGE. As used herein, a “mass fingerprint” refers to a population of polypeptide fragments obtained from a polypeptide after digestion with a protease. Typically, the polypeptide fragments resulting from a digestion are analyzed using a mass spectrometric method. Each polypeptide fragment is characterized by a mass, or by a mass (m) to charge (z) ratio, which is referred to as an “m/z ratio” or an “m/z value”. Methods for generating a mass fingerprint of a polypeptide are routine. An example of such a method is disclosed in Example 13.

Polypeptides of the present invention may be metal regulated polypeptides. As used herein, a “metal regulated polypeptide” is a polypeptide that is expressed by a microbe at a greater level when the microbe is grown in low metal conditions compared to growth of the same microbe in high metal conditions. Low metal and high metal conditions are described herein. For instance, one class of metal regulated polypeptide produced by Staphylococcus spp. is not expressed at detectable levels during growth of the microbe in high metal conditions but is expressed at detectable levels during growth in low metal conditions. Examples of such metal regulated polypeptides isolatable from S. aureus after growth in low iron conditions have molecular weights of 88 kDa, 55 kDa, 38 kDa, 37 kDa, 36 kDa, 35 kDa, and 33 kDa. Examples of such metal regulated polypeptides isolatable from S. aureus after growth in low zinc or low copper conditions have molecular weights of 115 kDa, 88 kDa, 80 kDa, 71 kDa, 69 kDa, 35 kDa, 30 kDa, 29, kDa, and 27 kDa.

The present invention also includes polypeptides that are not metal regulated. Such polypeptides are expressed in the presence of a metal ion such as ferric chloride, and also expressed when grown in low iron conditions. Examples of such polypeptides isolatable from S. aureus have molecular weights of 150 kDa, 132 kDa, 120 kDa, 75 kDa, 58 kDa, 50 kDa, 44 kDa, 43 kDa, 41 kDa, and 40 kDa.

Whether a polypeptide is a metal regulated polypeptide or not can be determined by methods useful for comparing the presence of polypeptides, including, for example, gel filtration, gel electrophoresis including sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE), capillary electrophoresis, mass spectrometry, and liquid chromatography including HPLC. Separate cultures of a microbe are grown under high metal conditions and under low metal conditions, polypeptides of the present invention are isolated as described herein, and the polypeptides present in each culture are resolved and compared. Typically, an equal amount of polypeptides from each culture is used. Preferably, the polypeptides are resolved using an SDS polyacrylamide gel having a stacking gel of about 4% and a resolving gel of about 10% under reducing and denaturing conditions. For instance, 30 micrograms (μg) of total polypeptide from each culture may be used and loaded into wells of a gel. After running the gel and staining the polypeptides with Coomasie Brilliant Blue, the two lanes can be compared. When determining whether a polypeptide is or is not expressed at a detectable level, 30 μg of total polypeptide from a culture is resolved on an SDS-PAGE gel and stained with Coomasie Brilliant Blue using methods known in the art. A polypeptide that can be visualized by eye is considered to be expressed at a detectable level, while a polypeptide that cannot be visualized by eye is considered to not be expressed at a detectable level.

Polypeptides of the present invention may have immunogenic activity. “Immunogenic activity” refers to the ability of a polypeptide to elicit an immunological response in an animal. An immunological response to a polypeptide is the development in an animal of a cellular and/or antibody-mediated immune response to the polypeptide. Usually, an immunological response includes but is not limited to one or more of the following effects: the production of antibodies, B cells, helper T cells, suppressor T cells, and/or cytotoxic T cells, directed to an epitope or epitopes of the polypeptide. “Epitope” refers to the site on an antigen to which specific B cells and/or T cells respond so that antibody is produced. The immunogenic activity may be protective. “Protective immunogenic activity” refers to the ability of a polypeptide to elicit an immunological response in an animal that prevents or inhibits infection by Staphylococcus spp., for instance, S. aureus. Whether a polypeptide has protective immunogenic activity can be determined by methods known in the art, for instance as described in Examples 5, 9, or 12. For example, a polypeptide of the present invention, or combination of polypeptides of the present invention, protect a rodent such as a mouse against challenge with a Staphylococcus spp. A polypeptide of the present invention may have seroactive activity. “Seroactive activity” refers to the ability of a candidate polypeptide to react with antibody present in convalescent serum from an animal infected with a Staphylococcus spp., for instance, S. aureus. In some aspects, the convalescent serum may be from an animal infected with the ATCC isolate 19636, strain SAAV1, strain 2176, or strain 1477. Polypeptides of the present invention may have immunoregulatory activity. “Immunoregulatory activity” refers to the ability of a polypeptide to act in a nonspecific manner to enhance an immune response to a particular antigen. Methods for determining whether a polypeptide has immunoregulatory activity are known in the art.

A polypeptide of the present invention may have the characteristics of a polypeptide expressed by a reference microbe. The characteristics can include both molecular weight and mass fingerprint. The reference microbe can be a gram positive, preferably a member of the family Micrococcaceae, preferably, Staphylococcus spp., more preferably, Staphylococcus aureus. Preferred examples of strain are detailed in Table 1.

TABLE 1 Bacterial strains. Bacterial cell Laboratory designation S. aureus ATCC isolate 19636 S. aureus strain SAAV1 S. aureus strain 1477 S. aureus strain 2176

When the reference microbe is S. aureus ATCC isolate 19636, a candidate polypeptide is considered to be a polypeptide of the present invention if it has a molecular weight of 88 kDa, 55 kDa, 38 kDa, 37 kDa, 36 kDa 35 kDa, or 33 kDa, and has a mass fingerprint that is similar to the mass fingerprint of a metal regulated polypeptide expressed by a reference microbe and having a molecular weight of 88 kDa, 55 kDa, 38 kDa, 37 kDa, 36 kDa 35 kDa, or 33 kDa, respectively. Preferably, such polypeptides are metal regulated. For instance, a candidate polypeptide is a polypeptide of the present invention if it has a molecular weight of 88 kDa and has a mass fingerprint similar to the mass fingerprint of an 88 kDa metal regulated polypeptide produced by the reference strain S. aureus ATCC isolate 19636.

When the reference microbe is S. aureus isolate SAAV1, a candidate polypeptide is considered to be a polypeptide of the present invention if it has a molecular weight (as determined by SDS-PAGE) of 88 kDa, 55 kDa, 38 kDa, 37 kDa, 36 kDa, 35 kDa, or 33 kDa, and has a mass fingerprint that is similar to the mass fingerprint of a polypeptide expressed by a reference microbe and having a molecular weight (as determined by SDS-PAGE) of 88 kDa, 55 kDa, 38 kDa, 37 kDa, 36 kDa, 35 kDa, or 33 kDa, respectively. Preferably, such polypeptides are metal regulated. For instance, a candidate polypeptide is a polypeptide of the present invention if it has a molecular weight of 88 kDa and has a mass fingerprint similar to the mass fingerprint of an 88 kDa metal regulated polypeptide produced by the reference strain S. aureus isolate SAAV 1.

When the reference microbe is S. aureus strain 2176, a candidate polypeptide is considered to be a polypeptide of the present invention if it has a molecular weight (as determined by SDS-PAGE) of 88 kDa, 80 kDa, 65 kDa, 55 kDa, 37 kDa, 36 kDa, 35 kDa, 33 kDa, or 32 kDa, and has a mass fingerprint that is similar to the mass fingerprint of a polypeptide expressed by a reference microbe and having a molecular weight (as determined by SDS-PAGE) of 88 kDa, 80 kDa, 65 kDa, 55 kDa, 37 kDa, 36 kDa, 35 kDa, 33 kDa, or 32 kDa, respectively. Preferably, such polypeptides are metal regulated. For instance, a candidate polypeptide is a polypeptide of the present invention if it has a molecular weight of 88 kDa and has a mass fingerprint similar to the mass fingerprint of an 88 kDa metal regulated polypeptide produced by the reference strain S. aureus isolate 2176.

When the reference microbe is S. aureus strain 1477, a candidate polypeptide is considered to be a polypeptide of the present invention if it has a molecular weight (as determined by SDS-PAGE) of 88 kDa, 80 kDa, 65 kDa, 55 kDa, 37 kDa, 36 kDa, 35 kDa, 33 kDa, or 32 kDa, and has a mass fingerprint that is similar to the mass fingerprint of a polypeptide expressed by a reference microbe and having a molecular weight (as determined by SDS-PAGE) of 88 kDa, 80 kDa, 65 kDa, 55 kDa, 37 kDa, 36 kDa, 35 kDa, 33 kDa, or 32 kDa, respectively. Preferably, such polypeptides are metal regulated. For instance, a candidate polypeptide is a polypeptide of the present invention if it has a molecular weight of 88 kDa and has a mass fingerprint similar to the mass fingerprint of an 88 kDa metal regulated polypeptide produced by the reference strain S. aureus isolate 1477.

The polypeptides expressed by a reference microbe and referred to above by molecular weight can be obtained by growth of the reference microbe under low metal conditions and the subsequent isolation of a polypeptide by the processes disclosed herein. A candidate polypeptide is isolatable from a microbe, preferably a gram positive microbe, more preferably, a member of the family Micrococcaceae, preferably, Staphylococcus spp., more preferably, Staphylococcus aureus.

Other gram positive microbes from which polypeptides can be isolated include Corynebacterium spp., Enterococcus spp., Erysipelothrix spp., Kytococcus spp., and Micrococcus spp., Mycobacterium spp., and Erysipelothrix spp. A candidate polypeptide may also be produced using recombinant, enzymatic, or chemical techniques.

A candidate polypeptide may be evaluated by mass spectrometric analysis to determine whether the candidate polypeptide has a mass fingerprint similar to one of the polypeptides expressed by a reference microbe and referred to above by molecular weight. Typically, the candidate polypeptide is isolated, for instance by resolving the candidate polypeptide by gel electrophoresis and excising the portion of the gel containing the candidate polypeptide. Any gel electrophoresis method that separates polypeptides based on differing characteristics can be used, including I dimensional or 2 dimensional gel electrophoresis, as well as liquid chromatographic separation based on, for instance, hydrophobicity, pI, or size. The candidate polypeptide is fragmented, for instance by digestion with a protease. Preferably, the protease cleaves the peptide bond on the carboxy-terminal side of the amino acid lysine and the amino acid arginine, except when the amino acid following the lysine or the arginine is a proline. An example of such a protease is trypsin. Methods for digesting a polypeptide with trypsin are routine and known in the art. An example of such a method is disclosed in Example 13.

Methods for the mass spectrometric analysis of polypeptides are routine and known in the art and include, but are not limited to, matrix assisted laser desorption/ionization time of flight mass spectroscopy (MALDI-TOF MS). Typically, a mixture containing the polypeptide fragments obtained from a candidate polypeptide is mixed with a matrix that functions to transform the laser energy to the sample and produce ionized, preferably monoisotopic, polypeptide fragments. Examples of matrices that can be used include, for instance, sinapinic acid or cyano-4-hydroxycinnamic acid. An example of a method for the analysis of polypeptides by MALDI-TOF MS is described in Example 13. The ionized polypeptide fragments are separated according to their m/z ratio, and detected to yield a spectrum of m/z ratio versus intensity. The spectrum includes m/z values that represent the polypeptide fragments derived from the candidate polypeptide. For any given polypeptide, the amount of each polypeptide fragment resulting from a trypsin digestion should be equimolar. However, it is known that trypsin digestion is not always 100% efficient, for instance, some sites are more efficiently cleaved. Thus, when MALDI-TOF MS is used to determine m/z values, the intensity of each m/z value is typically not identical. Generally, a spectrum has a background level of noise present across most of the x-axis (i.e., the axis having the values of the m/z ratios). This background level of noise varies depending on the running conditions and the machine used, and is easily identified by visual inspection of the spectrum. An m/z value is generally considered to represent a polypeptide fragment when the intensity is at least 2 times greater, at least 3 times greater, or at least 4 times greater than the background level of noise. The spectrum usually includes other m/z values that are artifacts resulting from, for instance, incomplete digestion, over digestion, other polypeptides that may be present in the mixture, or the protease used to digest the polypeptide including m/z values resulting from autolysis of the protease. This method of digesting a polypeptide with a protease is recognized in the art as resulting in a mass fingerprint of great specificity that can be used to accurately characterize the polypeptide and distinguish it from other polypeptides.

In this aspect of the invention, when a candidate polypeptide is analyzed by mass spectroscopy, preferably both the candidate polypeptide and the polypeptide from the reference microbe are prepared and analyzed together, thereby decreasing any potential artifacts resulting from differences in sample handling and running conditions. Preferably, all reagents used to prepare and analyze the two polypeptides are the same. For instance, the polypeptide from the reference microbe and the candidate polypeptide are isolated under substantially the same conditions, fragmented under substantially the same conditions, and analyzed by MALDI-TOF MS on the same machine under substantially the same conditions. A mass fingerprint of a candidate polypeptide is considered to be similar to the mass fingerprint of a polypeptide from a reference microbe when at least 80%, at least 90%, at least 95%, or substantially all of the m/z values present in the spectrum of the reference microbe polypeptide and above the background level of noise are also present in the spectrum of the candidate polypeptide.

In another aspect, a polypeptide is considered to be a polypeptide of the present invention if it has a molecular weight of a reference polypeptide described in Table 2, 3, 4, or 5 and has a mass fingerprint that includes the population of polypeptide fragments of the reference polypeptide as listed in Table 2, 3, 4, or 5. For instance, a polypeptide of the present invention includes a polypeptide of 88 kDa and a mass fingerprint that includes polypeptide fragments having masses of HVDVR, YSYER, IIGDYRR, IFTDYRK, ELKELGQK, YAQVKPIR, QMQFFGAR, SMQPFGGIR, VSGYAVNFIK, NHATAWQGFK, LWEQVMQLSK, SLGKEPEDQNR, DGISNTFSIVPK, AGVITGLPDAYGR, TSTFLDIYAER, SMQPFGGIRMAK, THNQGVFDAYSR, KAGVITGLPDAYGR, TLLYAINGGKDEK, IEMALHDTEIVR, AGEPFAPGANPMHGR, VALYGVDFLMEEK, KTHNQGVFDAYSR, YGFDLSRPAENFK, TSSIQYENDDIMR, KAGEPFAPGANPMHGR, RVALYGVDFLMEEK, LWEQVMQLSKEER, MLETNKNHATAWQGFK, MHDFNTMSTEMSEDVIR, YGNNDDRVDDIAVDLVER, ETLIDAMEHPEEYPQLTIR, YAQVKPIRNEEGLVVDFEIEGDFPK. The mass fingerprint of a candidate polypeptide can be determined by a mass spectrometric method, for instance by MALDI-TOF MS. The mass fingerprint of a candidate polypeptide will generally have additional polypeptide fragments and therefore additional ink values other than those listed for a polypeptide in Table 2, 3, 4, or 5. Preferably, when the candidate polypeptide is being compared to a polypeptide in Table 2, 3, 4, or 5, the candidate polypeptide is isolatable from a microbe, preferably a gram positive microbe, more preferably, a member of the family Micrococcaceae, preferably, Staphylococcus spp., more preferably, Staphylococcus aureus. Other gram positive microbes include Corynebacterium spp., Enterococcus spp., Erysipelothrix spp., Kytococcus spp., Listeria spp., Micrococcus spp., and Mycobacterium spp., and Erysipelothrix spp. A candidate polypeptide can be obtained by growth of a microbe under low metal conditions and the subsequent isolation of a polypeptide by the processes described herein.

It is well known in the art that modifications of amino acids can be accidentally introduced during sample handling, such as oxidation, and formation of carbamidomethyl derivatives. Further, these types of modifications alter the m/z value of a polypeptide fragment. For instance, if a polypeptide fragment contains a methionine that is oxidized, the m/z value will be increased by 16 relative to the same fragment that does not contain the oxidized methionine. Accordingly, those polypeptide fragments in Tables 2, 3, 4, or 5 having the notation “oxidation (M)” have an m/z value that is increased by 16 relative to the same fragment that does not contain the oxidized methionine. It is understood that the polypeptide fragments of Table 2, 3, 4, or 5 can be modified during sample handling.

TABLE 2 Characteristics of polypeptides obtained from S. aureus ATCC isolate 19636. Approximate m/z value of polypeptide Polypeptide molecular weight in fragments resulting from Predicted amino acid sequence of the designation kilodaltons (kDa)¹ trypsin digest² polypeptide fragment P23 88 625.4 HVDVR 717.3 YSYER 892.5 IIGDYRR 942.5 IFTDYRK 944.5 ELKELGQK 974.6 YAQVKPIR 984.5 QMQFFGAR 992.5 SMQPFGGIR 1097.6 VSGYAVNFIK 1159.5 NHATAWQGFK 1261.7 LWEQVMQLSK 1272.7 SLGKEPEDQNR 1277.7 DGISNTFSIVPK 1289.7 AGVITGLPDAYGR 1315.7 TSTFLDIYAER 1322.7 SMQPFGGIRMAK 1394.7 THNQGVFDAYSR 1417.8 KAGVITGLPDAYGR 1421.8 TLLYAINGGKDEK 1426.8 IEMALHDTEIVR 1508.8 AGEPFAPGANPMHGR 1513.9 VALYGVDFLMEEK 1522.8 KTHNQGVFDAYSR 1543.9 YGFDLSRPAENFK 1571.8 TSSIQYENDDIMR 1636.9 KAGEPFAPGANPMHGR 1670.0 RVALYGVDFLMEEK 1676.0 LWEQVMQLSKEER 1876.2 MLETNKNHATAWQGFK 2043.1 MHDFNTMSTEMSEDVIR 2078.2 YGNNDDRVDDIAVDLVER 2285.5 ETLIDAMEHPEEYPQLTIR 2892.9 YAQVKPIRNEEGLVVDFEIEGDFPK P25 55 783.6 LHSWLK 911.7 KLHSWLK 937.6 TYTFHLR 996.6 KFDGTGPFK 1025.6 QAIGHMVNR 1063.6 KWDVSEDGK 1185.6 IYNSIDDAFK 1277.6 NLEMAMYYDK 1324.7 ENKQLTYTTVK 1346.7 AESLLDEAGWKK 1381.8 TVRQAIGHMVNR 1394.8 TYTFHLRDDVK 1400.7 KGETNFAFTDDR 1419.7 FHDGTPFDADAVK 1422.8 NVTDINFDMPTR 1428.8 DKIYNSIDDAFK 1483.8 EQAEYLQAEFKK 1509.8 VMPAGETAFLSMKK 1547.9 FHDGTPFDADAVKK 1550.9 NVTDINFDMPTRK 1559.9 LNINGETSDKIAER 1788.1 EILDGQEKPATQLFAK 1930.1 GSSSQKEQAEYLQAEFK 1946.0 DESADFNKNDQYWGEK 2100.4 IAKEILDGQEKPATQLFAK 2239.3 VSFTQSQYELPFNEMQYK 2493.5 EAYQPALAELAMPRPYVFVSPK + Oxidation (M) 2900.6 DIGDMNPHVYGGSMSAESMIYEPLVR + 2 Oxidation (M) 2916.6 DIGDMNPHVYGGSMSAESMIYEPLVR + 3 Oxidation (M) P26 38 993.6 IVYVGADEK 996.7 QALNNPVLK 1237.7 ETVKIENNYK 1272.7 ENPDVILAMDR 1502.0 IAATKPEVIFISGR 1507.9 NAVVLDYGALDVMK 1523.9 ALPNFLESFKDDK 1559.9 LWYFAAGSTTTTIK 1716.0 FGGLVYDTLGFNAVDK 1737.0 IVYVGADEKNLIGSMK 1844.1 FGGLVYDTLGFNAVDKK 1929.1 GRFGGLVYDTLGFNAVDK 1998.2 TVMYLLVNEGELSTFGPK 2234.4 EVNFDKIAATKPEVIFISGR 3143.8 VSNSNHGQNVSNEYVNKENPDVILAMDR P27 37 699.5 FEYIK 729.4 DAWPLK 792.5 ASVVNFR 852.4 VYDQLSK 987.5 HAMGTTEIK 1008.5 LIDDLYEK 1020.5 YKDAWPLK 1074.5 EKEAEDLLK 1083.6 LKPDLIVASK 1169.5 FEYIKNDLK 1182.5 KTESEWTSSK 1184.5 YDDKVAAFQK 1223.5 NEKVYDQLSK 1278.6 IAPTVSTDTVFK 1497.6 TESEWTSSKEWK 1502.7 DAWPLKASVVNFR 1558.8 QVDNGKDIIQLTSK 1605.8 LIDDLYEKLNIEK 1623.8 IVGQEPAPNLEEISK 1712.8 ESIPLMNADHIFVVK 1800.9 IYAGGYAGEILNDLGFK 1957.0 IYAGGYAGEILNDLGFKR 2252.0 NNQVSDDLDEITWNLAGGYK 3383.9 RVVTLYQGATDVAVSLGVKPVGAVESWTQKPK P28 36 646.4 DVWAR 725.5 IIKPVR 1068.4 IGDYTSVGTR 1185.5 KQPNLEEISK 1327.6 LKPDLIIADSSR 1343.6 VDIVDRDVWAR 2080.9 GPYLQLDTEHLADLNPER 2438.1 AGLLAHPNYSYVGQFLNELGFK 2789.4 IVVLEYSFADALAALDVKPVGIADDGK P29 35 760.5 AGWAEVK 1012.6 TVDIPKDPK 1107.6 KDWEETTAK 1204.7 VAPTVVVDYNK 1238.6 YLEQQEMLGK 1244.6 LYTYGDNWGR 1259.7 IAVVAPTYAGGLK 1281.7 GGEVLYQAFGLK 1516.8 AGWAEVKQEEIEK 1683.9 LGANIVAVNQQVDQSK 1877.1 EKPDLIIVYSTDKDIK 1884.0 AIGQDATVSLFDEFDKK 2227.1 VDAGTYWYNDPYTLDFMR 2781.4 YAGDYIVSTSEGKPTPGYESTNMWK P30 33 834.5 QAIEFVK 864.5 YIAQLEK 946.5 QGTPEQMR 962.5 QAIEFVKK 976.5 DKFNDIPK 1054.5 AMITSEGAFK 1202.5 SNIETVHGSMK 1268.6 HLLVETSVDKK 1443.6 DIFGEVYTDSIGK 1450.7 TIQQTFIDNDKK 1454.7 VVTTNSILYDMAK 1571.7 KDIFGEVYTDSIGK 1593.7 QDPHAWLSLDNGIK 1818.9 DVKPIYLNGEEGNKDK 1836.9 DKQDPHAWLSLDNGIK 1911.9 QYGITPGYIWEINTEK 2582.3 LTDADVILYNGLNLETGNGWFEK 2710.2 KLTDADVILYNGLNLETGNGWFEK 2942.4 NVGGDNVDIHSIVPVGQDPHEYEVKPK ¹Molecular weight as determined by SDS-PAGE. ²The m/z value of a polypeptide fragment can be converted to mass by subtracting 1 from the m/z value. Each mass includes a range of plus or minus 300 parts per million (ppm), or plus or minus 1 Da.

TABLE 3 Characteristics of polypeptides obtained from S. aureus isolate SAAV1. Approximate m/z value of polypeptide polypeptide molecular weight in fragments resulting from Predicted amino acid sequence of the designation kilodaltons (kDa)¹ trypsin digest² polypeptide fragment P33A 55 783.4 LHSWLK 911.5 KLHSWLK 937.5 TYTFHLR 996.5 KFDGTGPFK 1025.5 QAIGHMVNR 1039.4 NDQYWGEK 1178.5 GTDSLDKDSLK 1185.5 IYNSIDDAFK 1222.6 DKYTVELNLK 1229.5 ISTLIDNVKVK 1346.6 AESLLDEAGWKK 1355.5 EQAEYLQAEFK 1381.6 VMPAGETAFLSMK 1400.5 KGETNFAFTDDR 1419.6 FHDGTPFDADAVK 1422.6 NVTDINFDMPTR 1483.6 EQAEYLQAEFKK 1547.7 FHDGTPFDADAVKK 1550.6 NVTDINFDMPTRK 1559.7 LNINGETSDKIAER 1787.9 EILDGQEKPATQLFAK 1945.8 DESADFNKNDQYWGEK 2239.0 VSFTQSQYELPFNEMQYK 2354.1 QIDDEGIFIPISHGSMTVVAPK 2868.1 DIGDMNPHVYGGSMSAESMIYEPLVR P33B 55 895.4 FPYAANGR 904.5 ALLHASHR 1045.5 EEGLAIKASK 1384.5 GEAYFVDNNSLR 1435.7 TIEADYVLVTVGR 1669.8 RPNTDELGLEELGVK 1841.0 NAIIATGSRPIEIPNFK 2179.2 TSISNIYAIGDIVPGLPLAHK 2546.2 FVEAQHSENLGVIAESVSLNFQK 2587.3 VVGDFPIETDTIVIGAGPGGYVAAIR P35 37 699.4 FEYIK 729.4 DAWPLK 792.4 ASVVNFR 852.4 VYDQLSK 1008.4 LIDDLYEK 1020.4 YKDAWPLK 1074.4 EKEAEDLLK 1083.5 LKPDLIVASK 1169.5 FEYIKNDLK 1182.4 KTESEWTSSK 1184.4 YDDKVAAFQK 1278.5 IAPTVSTDTVFK 1558.7 QVDNGKDIIQLTSK 1623.7 IVGQEPAPNLEEISK 1712.7 ESIPLMNADHIFVVK 1800.7 IYAGGYAGEILNDLGFK 1956.8 IYAGGYAGEILNDLGFKR 2251.9 NNQVSDDLDEITWNLAGGYK 3227.5 VVTLYQGATDVAVSLGVKPVGAVESWTQKPK P38 33 864.5 YIAQLEK 946.4 QGTPEQMR 976.5 DKFNDIPK 1054.5 AMITSEGAFK 1146.5 FNDIPKEQR 1268.6 HLLVETSVDKK 1322.5 TIQQTFIDNDK 1443.6 DIFGEVYTDSIGK 1450.6 TIQQTFIDNDKK 1454.6 VVTTNSILYDMAK 1593.7 QDPHAWLSLDNGIK 1818.9 DVKPIYLNGEEGNKDK 1836.8 DKQDPHAWLSLDNGIK 1911.9 QYGITPGYIWEINTEK 2942.4 NVGGDNVDIHSIVPVGQDPHEYEVKPK ¹Molecular weight as determined by SDS-PAGE. ²The m/z value of a polypeptide fragment can be converted to mass by subtracting 1 from the m/z value. Each mass includes a range of plus or minus 300 parts per million (ppm) or plus or minus 1 Da.

TABLE 4 Characteristics of polypeptides obtained from S. aureus isolate 2176. Approximate m/z value of polypeptide Polypeptide molecular weight in fragments resulting from Predicted amino acid sequence of the designation kilodaltons (kDa)¹ trypsin digest² polypeptide fragment P478 88 736.35 IIGDYR 814.49 IFTDYR 942.42 IFTDYRK 945.36 TGNTPDGRK 974.40 YAQVKPIR 984.27 QMQFFGAR 992.41 SMQPFGGIR 1087.31 EQQLDVISR 1097.31 VSGYAVNFIK 1159.37 NHATAWQGFK 1261.37 LWEQVMQLSK 1289.46 AGVITGLPDAYGR 1315.42 TSTFLDIYAER 1322.39 LREELSEQYR 1394.37 THNQGVFDAYSR 1417.52 KAGVITGLPDAYGR 1426.36 IEMALHDTEIVR 1487.39 NHATAWQGFKNGR 1508.42 AGEPFAPGANPMHGR 1513.52 VALYGVDFLMEEK 1543.43 YGFDLSRPAENFK 1571.50 TSSIQYENDDIMR 1636.56 KAGEPFAPGANPMHGR 1859.80 DLETIVGVQTEKPFKR 1876.77 TMATGIAGLSVAADSLSAIK 2042.57 MHDFNTMSTEMSEDVIR 2077.68 YGNNDDRVDDIAVDLVER 2158.88 AGVITESEVQEIIDHFIMK 2284.90 ETLIDAMEHPEEYPQLTIR 2575.08 FLHSLDNLGPAPEPNLTVLWSVR 2628.01 SGAQVGPNFEGINSEVLEYDEVFK 2756.06 SGAQVGPNFEGINSEVLEYDEVFKK 3262.33 VASTITSHDAGYLDKDLETIVGVQTEKPFK P479 80 625.27 HVDVR 736.26 IIGDYR 814.22 IFTDYR 942.27 IFTDYRK 974.26 YAQVKPIR 984.18 QMQFFGAR 992.23 SMQPFGGIR 1087.16 EQQLDVISR 1097.24 VSGYAVNFIK 1159.12 NHATAWQGFK 1243.14 VDDIAVDLVER 1261.22 LWEQVMQLSK 1272.24 SLGKEPEDQNR 1277.18 DGISNTFSIVPK 1289.21 AGVITGLPDAYGR 1315.19 TSTFLDIYAER 1322.21 LREELSEQYR 1394.16 THNQGVFDAYSR 1417.32 KAGVITGLPDAYGR 1426.23 IEMALHDTEIVR 1487.19 NHATAWQGFKNGR 1508.25 AGEPFAPGANPMHGR 1513.21 VALYGVDFLMEEK 1522.25 KTHNQGVFDAYSR 1543.26 YGFDLSRPAENFK 1571.23 TSSIQYENDDIMR 1636.29 KAGEPFAPGANPMHGR 1703.43 DLETIVGVQTEKPFK 1751.45 EAVQWLYLAYLAAIK 1859.53 DLETIVGVQTEKPFKR 1876.50 TMATGIAGLSVAADSLSAIK 1936.37 NEEGLVVDFEIEGDFPK 2042.43 MHDFNTMSTEMSEDVIR 2077.45 YGNNDDRVDDIAVDLVER 2158.57 AGVITESEVQEIIDHFIMK 2284.61 ETLIDAMEHPEEYPQLTIR 2574.77 FLHSLDNLGPAPEPNLTVLWSVR 2627.61 SGAQVGPNFEGINSEVLEYDEVFK 2755.70 SGAQVGPNFEGINSEVLEYDEVFKK 2907.65 EFIQLNYTLYEGNDSFLAGPTEATSK 3261.91 VASTITSHDAGYLDKDLETIVGVQTEKPFK 3421.02 TPDYNELFSGDPTWVTESIGGVGIDGRPLVTK P480 65 625.35 HVDVR 717.38 YSYER 733.42 LPDNFK 736.44 IIGDYR 814.33 IFTDYR 853.31 YGNNDDR 942.33 IFTDYRK 944.39 ELKELGQK 974.52 YAQVKPIR 984.36 QMQFFGAR 992.44 SMQPFGGIR 1049.44 TLLYAINGGK 1087.43 EQQLDVISR 1097.51 VSGYAVNFIK 1159.52 NHATAWQGFK 1289.53 AGVITGLPDAYGR 1315.51 TSTFLDIYAER 1322.46 LREELSEQYR 1394.50 THNQGVFDAYSR 1417.65 KAGVITGLPDAYGR 1442.56 IEMALHDTEIVR + Oxidation (M) 1467.60 VSGYAVNFIKLTR 1522.61 KTHNQGVFDAYSR 1524.55 AGEPFAPGANPMHGR + Oxidation (M) 1529.64 VALYGVDFLMEEK + Oxidation (M) 1543.62 YGFDLSRPAENFK 1652.68 KAGEPFAPGANPMHGR + Oxidation (M) 1671.76 TSTFLDIYAERDLK 1766.76 VDDIAVDLVERFMTK + Oxidation (M) 1876.86 TMATGIAGLSVAADSLSAIK 2077.93 YGNNDDRVDDIAVDLVER 2225.07 DSEHTMSVLTITSNVVYGKK + Oxidation (M) 2575.33 FLHSLDNLGPAPEPNLTVLWSVR 2628.25 SGAQVGPNFEGINSEVLEYDEVFK 2748.36 NLTSMLDGYAMQCGHHLNINVFNR 2756.63 SGAQVGPNFEGINSEVLEYDEVFKK 3001.02 DEKSGAQVGPNFEGINSEVLEYDEVFK 3420.75 TPDYNELFSGDPTWVTESIGGVGIDGRPLVTK P481 55 634.33 AKSNSK 883.24 TFYPEAR 1014.24 QFWGHLVK 1131.17 WIPLMMKGR 1207.21 VINEEFEISK 1324.10 NEDWQLYTAGK 1360.28 TLLFGPFANVGPK 1386.31 LDRPAIESSNER 1565.30 IDEGTDVNFGELTR 1584.34 EFINPLPHISYVR 1699.29 EIEPDWNIHVYER 1744.36 EPPGTPPMTVPHLDTR 2046.52 QVTDYVFIGAGGGAIPLLQK 2189.43 TFYPEARNEDWQLYTAGK 2806.58 HLGGFPISGQFLACTNPQVIEQHDAK P482 37 699.28 FEYIK 729.26 DAWPLK 792.33 ASVVNFR 852.28 VYDQLSK 1008.30 LIDDLYEK 1020.31 YKDAWPLK 1083.43 LKPDLIVASK 1278.36 IAPTVSTDTVFK 1623.44 IVGQEPAPNLEEISK 1712.62 ESIPLMNADHIFVVK 1800.61 IYAGGYAGEILNDLGFK 1956.77 IYAGGYAGEILNDLGFKR 2251.77 NNQVSDDLDEITWNLAGGYK 3227.44 VVTLYQGATDVAVSLGVKPVGAVESWTQKPK P483 36 646.50 DVWAR 672.41 KLNAVK 716.41 VDIVDR 725.61 IIKPVR 842.50 IAPTLSLK 850.47 QNINSFK 1068.50 IGDYTSVGTR 1075.42 MIIMTDHAK + Oxidation (M) 1185.53 KQPNLEEISK 1327.59 LKPDLIIADSSR 1343.58 VDIVDRDVWAR 1592.76 LKPDLIIADSSRHK 2081.00 GPYLQLDTEHLADLNPER 2438.24 AGLLAHPNYSYVGQFLNELGFK 2789.48 IVVLEYSFADALAALDVKPVGIADDGK 2917.60 IVVLEYSFADALAALDVKPVGIADDGKK P484 35 857.38 AAAIDLAGR 1022.23 NIEADTGMR + Oxidation (M) 1056.32 VVDANIAAQR 1075.36 ADIDLPFER 1285.44 LVGGAGEETIIAR 1435.44 AMAVATEQEMKAR 1632.50 HHTEVLENPDNISK 1813.65 VVEAESEVPLAMAEALR 1887.67 VIETPFIAGVAMNGIEVK 2299.85 AGLALTTNQLESHYLAGGNVDR 2806.95 TVLSKGLDSGTAFEILSIDIADVDISK 3337.42 AGLALTTNQLESHYLAGGNVDRVVDANIAAQR P485 33 625.28 ADYEK 864.28 YIAQLEK 946.23 QGTPEQMR 1045.26 ALEQAGKSLK 1268.35 HLLVETSVDKK 1443.34 DIFGEVYTDSIGK 1450.40 TIQQTFIDNDKK 1454.37 VVTTNSILYDMAK 1571.45 KDIFGEVYTDSIGK 1576.44 DVKPIYLNGEEGNK 1593.47 QDPHAWLSLDNGIK 1819.59 DVKPIYLNGEEGNKDK 1836.62 DKQDPHAWLSLDNGIK 1911.66 QYGITPGYIWEINTEK 2172.83 VIAVSKDVKPIYLNGEEGNK 2582.00 LTDADVILYNGLNLETGNGWFEK 2942.26 NVGGDNVDIHSIVPVGQDPHEYEVKPK P486 32 625.42 ADYEK 864.41 YIAQLEK 1268.48 HLLVETSVDKK 1443.49 DIFGEVYTDSIGK 1450.53 TIQQTFIDNDKK 1454.61 VVTTNSILYDMAK 1576.64 DVKPIYLNGEEGNK 1593.57 QDPHAWLSLDNGIK 1818.77 DVKPIYLNGEEGNKDK 1836.78 DKQDPHAWLSLDNGIK 1911.81 QYGITPGYIWEINTEK 2582.18 LTDADVILYNGLNLETGNGWFEK 2942.32 NVGGDNVDIHSIVPVGQDPHEYEVKPK ¹Molecular weight as determined by SDS-PAGE. ²The m/z value of a polypeptide fragment can be converted to mass by subtracting 1 from the m/z value. Each mass includes a range of plus or minus 400 parts per million (ppm) or 1 Dalton.

TABLE 5 Characteristics of polypeptides obtained from S. aureus bovine isolate 1477. Approximate m/z value of polypeptide polypeptide molecular weight in fragments resulting from Predicted amino acid sequence of the designation kilodaltons (kDa)¹ trypsin digest² polypeptide fragment P487 88 717.39 YSYER 736.52 IIGDYR 814.46 IFTDYR 942.46 IFTDYRK 974.54 YAQVKPIR 984.41 QMQFFGAR 992.40 SMQPFGGIR 1087.49 EQQLDVISR 1097.50 VSGYAVNFIK 1159.39 NHATAWQGFK 1261.45 LWEQVMQLSK 1272.50 SLGKEPEDQNR 1277.50 DGISNTFSIVPK 1289.54 AGVITGLPDAYGR 1315.54 TSTFLDIYAER 1322.53 LREELSEQYR 1394.50 THNQGVFDAYSR 1417.62 KAGVITGLPDAYGR 1426.65 IEMALHDTEIVR 1508.59 AGEPFAPGANPMHGR 1522.61 KTHNQGVFDAYSR 1543.68 YGFDLSRPAENFK 1877.74 TMATGIAGLSVAADSLSAIK 2077.86 YGNNDDRVDDIAVDLVER 2159.08 AGVITESEVQEIIDHFIMK 2285.07 ETLIDAMEHPEEYPQLTIR 2575.32 FLHSLDNLGPAPEPNLTVLWSVR 2628.24 SGAQVGPNFEGINSEVLEYDEVFK 2756.41 SGAQVGPNFEGINSEVLEYDEVFKK 3262.68 VASTITSHDAGYLDKDLETIVGVQTEKPFK P488 80 625.49 HVDVR 814.54 IFTDYR 942.66 IFTDYRK 974.69 YAQVKPIR 984.59 QMQFFGAR 992.55 SMQPFGGIR 1159.64 NHATAWQGFK 1261.63 LWEQVMQLSK 1272.74 SLGKEPEDQNR 1277.69 DGISNTFSIVPK 1289.76 AGVITGLPDAYGR 1315.73 TSTFLDIYAER 1322.72 SMQPFGGIRMAK 1394.73 THNQGVFDAYSR 1417.86 KAGVITGLPDAYGR 1422.76 TLLYAINGGKDEK 1426.80 IEMALHDTEIVR 1508.82 AGEPFAPGANPMHGR 1513.80 VALYGVDFLMEEK 1543.82 YGFDLSRPAENFK 1571.82 TSSIQYENDDIMR 1703.99 DLETIVGVQTEKPFK 1860.23 DLETIVGVQTEKPFKR 1877.07 TMATGIAGLSVAADSLSAIK 1937.09 NEEGLVVDFEIEGDFPK 2078.13 YGNNDDRVDDIAVDLVER 2575.56 FLHSLDNLGPAPEPNLTVLWSVR 2628.30 SGAQVGPNFEGINSEVLEYDEVFK 2908.63 EFIQLNYTLYEGNDSFLAGPTEATSK P489 65 733.67 IVKFAR 944.71 ELKELGQK 974.79 YAQVKPIR 984.69 QMQFFGAR 1049.83 TLLYAINGGK 1087.78 EQQLDVISR 1097.79 VSGYAVNFIK 1243.80 VDDIAVDLVER 1272.82 SLGKEPEDQNR 1289.87 AGVITGLPDAYGR 1299.92 LPDNFKTYCAK 1315.83 TSTFLDIYAER 1322.84 SMQPFGGIRMAK 1390.93 DQKGALSSLSSVAK 1394.84 THNQGVFDAYSR 1577.94 VASTITSHDAGYLDK 1637.09 KAGEPFAPGANPMHGR 1704.16 DLETIVGVQTEKPFK 2030.42 MSIKTSSIQYENDDIMR 2078.34 YGNNDDRVDDIAVDLVER 2284.60 ETLIDAMEHPEEYPQLTIR 2575.77 FLHSLDNLGPAPEPNLTVLWSVR 2628.64 SGAQVGPNFEGINSEVLEYDEVFK P490 55 883.81 TFYPEAR 1014.87 QFWGHLVK 1131.97 WIPLMMKGR 1207.99 VINEEFEISK 1231.97 YSFFDQVIMTK 1325.02 NEDWQLYTAGK 1361.17 TLLFGPFANVGPK 1362.14 GREDNPGIMAASK + Oxidation (M) 1387.14 LDRPAIESSNER 1481.24 NEDWQLYTAGKR 1566.28 IDEGTDVNFGELTR 1585.34 EFINPLPHISYVR 1700.36 EIEPDWNIHVYER 1761.49 EPPGTPPMTVPHLDTR + Oxidation (M) 2047.67 QVTDYVFIGAGGGAIPLLQK 2208.82 VYGKEPPGTPPMTVPHLDTR + Oxidation (M) 2865.21 HLGGFPISGQFLACTNPQVIEQHDAK P492 36 857.57 AAAIDLAGR 1056.59 VVDANIAAQR 1075.61 ADIDLPFER 1285.74 LVGGAGEETIIAR 1632.95 HHTEVLENPDNISK 1814.09 VVEAESEVPLAMAEALR 2284.45 AAAIDLAGRDVLEAVQMSVNPK + Oxidation (M) 2300.40 AGLALTTNQLESHYLAGGNVDR 2807.80 TVLSKGLDSGTAFEILSIDIADVDISK P493 35 762.46 FVFHGR 964.39 DGFNNIER 1363.56 GHVYNGISGGQFK 1443.56 YTPTSILYFNPK 1450.64 QLAEDLQKHLGAK 1819.88 NHSEYVTDMRLIGIR + Oxidation (M) 1875.84 DLPPMEQVFDTLDLDK 1941.00 IRPEDMHIMANIFLPK + Oxidation (M) 2081.10 RIRPEDMHIMANIFLPK 2283.30 ISHLVLTRTGLYIIDSQLLK P495 32 ¹Molecular weight as determined by SDS-PAGE. ²The m/z value of a polypeptide fragment can be converted to mass by subtracting 1 from the m/z value. Each mass includes a range of plus or minus 430 parts per million (ppm) or 1 Dalton.

In yet another aspect, the present invention further includes polypeptides having similarity with an amino acid sequence. The similarity is referred to as structural similarity and is generally determined by aligning the residues of the two amino acid sequences (i.e., a candidate amino acid sequence and a reference amino acid sequence) to optimize the number of identical amino acids along the lengths of their sequences; gaps in either or both sequences are permitted in making the alignment in order to optimize the number of identical amino acids, although the amino acids in each sequence must nonetheless remain in their proper order. Reference amino acid sequences are disclosed in Tables 6, 7, 8, and 9. Two amino acid sequences can be compared using commercially available algorithms. Preferably, two amino acid sequences are compared using the BLASTP program of the BLAST 2 search algorithm, as described by Tatusova, et al., (FEMS Microbiol Lett 1999, 174:247-250), and available through the World Wide Web, for instance at the internet site maintained by the National Center for Biotechnology Information, National Institutes of Health. Preferably, the default values for all BLAST 2 search parameters are used, including matrix=BLOSUM62; open gap penalty=11, extension gap penalty=1, gap x_dropoff=50, expect=10, wordsize=3, and optionally, filter on. In the comparison of two amino acid sequences using the BLAST search algorithm, structural similarity is referred to as “identities.” Preferably, a candidate amino acid sequence has at least 80% identity, at least 90% identity, at least 95% identity, at least 96% identity, at least 97% identity, at least 98% identity, or at least 99% identity to a reference amino acid sequence. Preferably, the molecular weight of the candidate amino acid sequence and the reference amino acid sequence are substantially the same value. Preferably, the molecular weight of the candidate amino acid sequence and the reference amino acid sequence is determined by SDS polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. A candidate polypeptide can be obtained by growth of a microbe under

low metal conditions and the subsequent isolation of a polypeptide by the procedures disclosed herein.

Typically, a candidate amino acid sequence having structural similarity to a reference amino acid sequence has immunogenic activity, protective immunogenic activity, seroactive activity, immunoregulatory activity, or a combination thereof.

TABLE 6 S. aureus ATCC isolate 19636. NCBI sequence identifier of polypeptide identified by the Molecular weight of computer algorithm as having reference polypeptide best match to mass fingerprint Sequence ID (kDa)¹ of reference polypeptide Number 88 49243545 418 55 81762012 419 38 82750440 420 37 49243435 421 36 57286380 422 35 49245508 423 33 49243946 424 ¹Molecular weight as determined by SDS-PAGE.

TABLE 7 S. aureus SAAV1. NCBI sequence identifier of polypeptide identified by the Molecular weight of computer algorithm as having reference polypeptide best match to mass fingerprint (kDa)¹ of reference polypeptide 55 57286470 55 48874 37 49243435 33 49243946 ¹Molecular weight as determined by SDS-PAGE.

TABLE 8 S. aureus 2176. NCBI sequence identifier of polypeptide identified by the Molecular weight of computer algorithm as having reference polypeptide best match to mass fingerprint (kDa)¹ of reference polypeptide 88 57285406 80 57285406 65 57285406 55 57286528 37 49482358 36 57286380 35 15927153 33 57285658 32 57285658 ¹Molecular weight as determined by SDS-PAGE.

TABLE 9 S. aureus 1477. NCBI sequence identifier of polypeptide identified by the Molecular weight of computer algorithm as having reference polypeptide best match to mass fingerprint (kDa)¹ of reference polypeptide 88 49482458 80 57285406 65 57285406 55 57286528 36 15927153 35 49484031 ¹Molecular weight as determined by SDS-PAGE.

The polypeptides expressed by a reference microbe and referred to above by molecular weight can be obtained by growth of the reference microbe under low metal conditions and the subsequent isolation of a polypeptide by the processes disclosed herein. A candidate polypeptide is isolatable from a microbe, preferably a gram positive microbe, more preferably, a member of the family Micrococcaceae, preferably, Staphylococcus spp., more preferably, Staphylococcus aureus. Other gram positive microbes include Corynebacterium spp., Erysipelothrix spp., Mycobacterium spp., and Erysipelothrix spp. A candidate polypeptide may also be produced using recombinant, enzymatic, or chemical techniques.

Also provided by the present invention are whole cell preparations of a microbe, where the microbe expresses one or more of the polypeptides of the present invention. The cells present in a whole cell preparation are preferably inactivated such that the cells cannot replicate, but the immunogenic activity of the polypeptides of the present invention expressed by the microbe is maintained. Typically, the cells are killed by exposure to agents such as glutaraldehyde, formalin, or formaldehyde.

Compositions

A composition of the present invention may include at least one polypeptide described herein, or a number of polypeptides that is an integer greater than 1 (e.g., at least 2, at least 3, at least 4). For example, a composition can include 2, 3, 4, 5, or more isolated metal regulated polypeptides having molecular weights of 88 kDa, 55 kDa, 38 kDa, 37 kDa, 36 kDa, 35 kDa, 33 kDa, or any subset or combination thereof. A composition can include polypeptides isolatable from 1 microbe, or can be isolatable from a combination of 2 or more microbes. For instance, a composition can include polypeptides isolatable from 2 or more Staphyloccocus spp., or from a Staphyloccocus spp. and a different microbe that is not a member of the genus Staphyloccocus. The present invention also provides compositions including a whole cell preparation, where the whole cell expresses one or more of the polypeptides of the present invention. For instance, the whole cell can be a Staphyloccocus spp. In some aspects, a composition can include whole preparations from 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6 strains.

Optionally, a polypeptide of the present invention can be covalently bound or conjugated to a carrier polypeptide to improve the immunological properties of the polypeptide. Useful carrier polypeptides are known in the art. The chemical coupling of polypeptides of the present invention can be carried out using known and routine methods. For instance, various homobifunctional and/or heterobifunctional cross-linker reagents such as bis(sulfosuccinimidyl) suberate, bis(diazobenzidine), dimethyl adipimidate, dimethyl pimelimidate, dimethyl superimidate, disuccinimidyl suberate, glutaraldehyde, m-maleimidobenzoyl-N-hydroxysuccinimide, sulfo-m-maleimidobenzoyl-N-hydroxysuccinimide, sulfosuccinimidyl 4-(N-maleimidomethyl)cycloheane-1-carboxylate, sulfosuccinimidyl 4-(p-maleimido-phenyl) butyrate and (1-ethyl-3-(dimethyl-aminopropyl) carbodiimide can be used (see, for instance, Harlow and Lane, Antibodies, A Laboratory Manual, generally and Chapter 5, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y., N.Y. (1988)).

The compositions of the present invention optionally further include a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier. “Pharmaceutically acceptable” refers to a diluent, carrier, excipient, salt, etc, that is compatible with the other ingredients of the composition, and not deleterious to the recipient thereof. Typically, the composition includes a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier when the composition is used as described herein. The compositions of the present invention may be formulated in pharmaceutical preparations in a variety of forms adapted to the chosen route of administration, including routes suitable for stimulating an immune response to an antigen. Thus, a composition of the present invention can be administered via known routes including, for example, oral; parental including intradermal, transcutaneous and subcutaneous; intramuscular, intravenous, intraperitoneal, etc. and topically, such as, intranasal, intrapulmonary, intramammary, intravaginal, intrauterine, intradermal, transcutaneous and rectally, etc. It is foreseen that a composition can be administered to a mucosal surface, such as by administration to the nasal or respiratory mucosa (e.g. spray or aerosol), in order to stimulate mucosal immunity, such as production of secretory IgA antibodies, throughout the animal's body.

A composition of the present invention can also be administered via a sustained or delayed release implant. Implants suitable for use according to the invention are known and include, for example, those disclosed in Emery and Straub (WO 01/37810 (2001)), and Emery et al., (WO 96/01620 (1996)). Implants can be produced at sizes small enough to be administered by aerosol or spray. Implants also include nanospheres and microspheres.

A composition of the present invention may be administered in an amount sufficient to treat certain conditions as described herein. The amount of polypeptides or whole cells present in a composition of the present invention can vary. For instance, the dosage of polypeptides can be between 0.01 micrograms (μg) and 300 mg, typically between 0.1 mg and 10 mg. When the composition is a whole cell preparation, the cells can be present at a concentration of, for instance, 10² bacteria/ml, 10³ bacteria/ml, 10⁴ bacteria/ml, 10⁵ bacteria/ml, 10⁶ bacteria/ml, 10⁷ bacteria/ml, 10⁸ bacteria/ml, or 10⁹ bacteria/ml. For an injectable composition (e.g. subcutaneous, intramuscular, etc.) the polypeptides may be present in the composition in an amount such that the total volume of the composition administered is 0.5 ml to 5.0 ml, typically 1.0-2.0 ml. When the composition is a whole cell preparation, the cells are preferably present in the composition in an amount that the total volume of the composition administered is 0.5 ml to 5.0 ml, typically 1.0-2.0 ml. The amount administered will vary depending on various factors including, but not limited to, the specific polypeptides chosen, the weight, physical condition and age of the animal, and the route of administration. Thus, the absolute weight of the polypeptide included in a given unit dosage form can vary widely, and depends upon factors such as the species, age, weight and physical condition of the animal, as well as the method of administration. Such factors can be determined by one of skill in the art. Other examples of dosages suitable for the invention are disclosed in Emery et al., (U.S. Pat. No. 6,027,736).

The formulations may be conveniently presented in unit dosage form and may be prepared by methods well known in the art of pharmacy. Methods of preparing a composition with a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier include the step of bringing the active compound (e.g., a polypeptide or whole cell of the present invention) into association with a carrier that constitutes one or more accessory ingredients. In general, the formulations are prepared by uniformly and intimately bringing the active compound into association with a liquid carrier, a finely divided solid carrier, or both, and then, if necessary, shaping the product into the desired formulations.

A composition including a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier can also include an adjuvant. An “adjuvant” refers to an agent that can act in a nonspecific manner to enhance an immune response to a particular antigen, thus potentially reducing the quantity of antigen necessary in any given immunizing composition, and/or the frequency of injection necessary in order to generate an adequate immune response to the antigen of interest. Adjuvants may include, for example, IL-1, IL-2, emulsifiers, muramyl dipeptides, dimethyl dioctadecyl ammonium bromide (DDA), pyridine, aluminum hydroxide, oils, saponins, alpha-tocopherol, polysaccharides, emulsified paraffins (including, for instance, those available from under the tradename EMULSIGEN from MVP Laboratories, Ralston, Nebr.), ISA-70, RIBI and other substances known in the art. It is expected that polypeptides of the present invention will have immunoregulatory activity and that such polypeptides may be used as adjuvants that directly act as T and/or B cell activators or act on specific cell types that enhance the synthesis of various cytokines or activate intracellular signaling pathways. Such polypeptides are expected to augment the immune response to increase the protective index of the existing composition.

In another embodiment, a composition of the invention including a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier can include a biological response modifier, such as, for example, IL-2, IL-4 and/or IL-6, TNF, IFN-alpha, IFN-gamma, and other cytokines that effect immune cells. An immunizing composition can also include other components known in the art such as an antibiotic, a preservative, an anti-oxidant, or a chelating agent.

Methods of Making

The present invention also provides methods for obtaining the polypeptides described herein. The polypeptides and whole cells of the present invention are isolatable from a member of the family Micrococcaceae, preferably, Staphylococcus spp., more preferably, Staphylococcus aureus. Other gram positive microbes from which polypeptides can be isolated include Corynebacterium spp., Erysipelothrix spp., Mycobacterium spp., and Erysipelothrix spp. Microbes useful for obtaining polypeptides of the present invention and making whole cell preparations are commercially available from a depository such as American Type Culture Collection (ATCC). In addition, such microbes are readily obtainable by techniques routine and known to the art. The microbes may be derived from an infected animal as a field isolate, and used to obtain polypeptides and/or whole cell preparations of the present invention, or stored for future use, for example, in a frozen repository at −20° C. to −95° C., or −40° C. to −50° C., in bacteriological media containing 20% glycerol, and other like media.

When a polypeptide of the present invention is to be obtained from a microbe, the microbe can be incubated under low metal conditions. As used herein, the phrase “low metal conditions” refers to an environment, typically bacteriological media, which contains amounts of a free metal that cause a microbe to express metal regulated polypeptides at a detectable level. As used herein, the phrase “high metal conditions” refers to an environment that contains amounts of a free metal that cause a microbe to either not express one or more of the metal regulated polypeptides described herein at a detectable level, or to decrease expression of such a polypeptide. Metals are those present in the periodic table under Groups 1 through 17 (IUPAC notation; also referred to as Groups I-A, II-A, III-B, IV-B, V-B, VI-B, VII-B, VIII, I-B, II-B, IV-A, V-A, VI-A, and VII-A, respectively, under CAS notation). Preferably, metals are those in Groups 2 through 12, more preferably, Groups 3-12. Even more preferably, the metal is iron, zinc, copper, magnesium, nickel, cobalt, manganese, molybdenum, or selenium, most preferably, iron.

Low metal conditions are generally the result of the addition of a metal chelating compound to a bacteriological medium, the use of a bacteriological medium that contains low amounts of a metal, or the combination thereof. High metal conditions are generally present when a chelator is not present in the medium, a metal is added to the medium, or the combination thereof. Examples of metal chelators include natural and synthetic compounds. Examples of natural compounds include plant phenolic compounds, such as flavenoids. Examples of flavenoids include the copper chelators catechin and naringenin, and the iron chelators myricetin and quercetin. Examples of synthetic copper chelators include, for instance, tetrathiomolybdate, and examples of synthetic zinc chelators include, for instance, N,N,N′,N′-Tetrakis (2-pyridylmethyl)-ethylene diamine. Examples of synthetic iron chelators include 2,2′-dipyridyl (also referred to in the art as α,α′-bipyridyl), 8-hydroxyquinoline, ethylenediamine-di-O-hydroxyphenylacetic acid (EDDHA), desferrioxamine methanesulphonate (desferol), transferrin, lactoferrin, ovotransferrin, biological siderophores, such as, the catecholates and hydroxamates, and citrate. An example of a general divalent cation chelator is Chelex® resin. Preferably, 2,2′-dipyridyl is used for the chelation of iron. Typically, 2,2′-dipyridyl is added to the media at a concentration of at least 300 micrograms/milliliter (μg/ml), at least 600 μg/ml, or at least 900 μg/ml. High levels of 2,2′-dipyridyl can be 1200 μg/ml, 1500 μg/ml, or 1800 μg/ml.

The S. aureus genome encodes three Fur homologs: Fur, PerR, and Zur. While the Zur and PerR proteins appear to be primarily involved in regulating zinc homeostasis and peroxide stress genes, respectively, the Fur protein has been demonstrated to regulate several iron-siderophore uptake systems in response to iron limitation. The Fur protein also plays a role in oxidative stress resistance and virulence. It is expected that a gram positive organism, preferably, an S. aureus, with a mutation in a fur gene will result in the constitutive expression of many, if not all, of the metal regulated polypeptides of the present invention. The production of a fur mutation in a gram positive, preferably, an S. aureus, can be produced using routine methods including, for instance, transposon, chemical, or site-directed mutagenesis useful for generating gene knock-out mutations in gram positive bacteria.

The medium used to incubate the microbe and the volume of media used to incubate the microbe can vary. When a microbe is being evaluated for the ability to produce one or more of the polypeptides described herein, the microbe can be grown in a suitable volume, for instance, 10 milliliters to 1 liter of medium. When a microbe is being grown to obtain polypeptides for use in, for instance, administration to animals, the microbe may be grown in a fermentor to allow the isolation of larger amounts of polypeptides. Methods for growing microbes in a fermentor are routine and known to the art. The conditions used for growing a microbe preferably include a metal chelator, more preferably an iron chelator, for instance 2,2′-dipyridyl, a pH of between 6.5 and 7.5, preferably between 6.9 and 7.1, and a temperature of 37° C.

In some aspects of the invention, a microbe may be harvested after growth. Harvesting includes concentrating the microbe into a smaller volume and suspending in a media different than the growth media. Methods for concentrating a microbe are routine and known in the art, and include, for example, filtration or centrifugation. Typically, the concentrated microbe is suspended in an appropriate buffer. An example of a buffer that can be used contains Tris-base (7.3 grams/liter), at a pH of 8.5. Optionally, the final buffer also minimizes proteolytic degradation. This can be accomplished by having the final buffer at a pH of greater than 8.0, preferably, at least 8.5, and/or including one or more proteinase inhibitors (e.g., phenylmethanesulfonyl fluoride). Optionally and preferably, the concentrated microbe is frozen at −20° C. or below until disrupted.

When the microbe is to be used as a whole cell preparation, the harvested cells may be processed using routine and known methods to inactivate the cells. Alternatively, when a microbe is to be used to prepare polypeptides of the present invention, the microbe may be disrupted using chemical, physical, or mechanical methods routine and known to the art, including, for example, boiling, french press, sonication, digestion of peptidoglycan (for instance, by digestion with lysozyme), or homogenization. An example of a suitable device useful for homogenization is a model C500-B Avestin Homogenizer, (Avestin Inc, Ottawa Canada). As used herein, “disruption” refers to the breaking up of the cell. Disruption of a microbe can be measured by methods that are routine and known to the art, including, for instance, changes in optical density. Typically, a microbe is subjected to disruption until the percent transmittance is increased by 20% when a 1:100 dilution is measured. When physical or mechanical methods are used, the temperature during disruption is typically kept low, preferably at 4° C., to further minimize proteolytic degradation. When chemical methods are used the temperature may be increased to optimize for the cell disruption. A combination of chemical, physical, and mechanical methods may also be used to to solubilize the cell wall of microbe. As used herein, the term “solubilize” refers to dissolving cellular materials (e.g., polypeptides, nucleic acids, carbohydrates) into the aqueous phase of the buffer in which the microbe was disrupted, and the formation of aggregates of insoluble cellular materials. Without intending to be limited by theory, the conditions for solubilization are believed to result in the aggregation of polypeptides of the present invention into insoluble aggregates that are large enough to allow easy isolation by, for instance, centrifugation.

The insoluble aggregates that include one or more of the polypeptides of the present invention may be isolated by methods that are routine and known to the art. Preferably, the insoluble aggregates are isolated by centrifugation. Typically, centrifugation of polypeptides, such as membrane polypeptides, can be accomplished by centrifugal forces of 100,000×g. The use of such centrifugal forces requires the use of ultracentrifuges, and scale-up to process large volumes of sample is often difficult and not economical with these types of centrifuges. The methods described herein provide for the production of insoluble aggregates large enough to allow the use of continuous flow centrifuges, for instance T-1 Sharples (Alfa Laval Separations, Warminster, Pa.), which can be used with a flow rate of 250 ml/minute at 17 psi at a centrifugal force of 46,000×g to 60,000×g. Other large scale centrifuges can be used, such as the tubular bowl, chamber, and disc configurations. Such centrifuges are routinely used and known in the art, and are commercially available from such manufactures as Pennwalt, Westfalia and alpha-Laval.

The final harvested proteins are washed and/or dialyzed against an appropriate buffer using methods known in the art, for instance diafiltration, precipitation, hydrophobic chromatography, ion-exchange chromatography, or affinity chromatography, or ultra filtration and washing the polypeptides, for instance, in alcohol, by diafiltration. After isolation, the polypeptides suspended in buffer and stored at low temperature, for instance, −20° C. or below.

In those aspects of the present invention where a whole cell preparation is to be made, after growth a microbe can be killed with the addition of an agent such as glutaraldehyde, formalin, or formaldehyde, at a concentration sufficient to inactivate the cells in the culture. For instance, formalin can be added at a concentration of 0.3% (vol:vol). After a period of time sufficient to inactivate the cells, the cells can be harvested by, for instance, diafiltration and/or centrifugation, and washed.

Methods of Use

An aspect of the present invention is further directed to methods of using the compositions of the present invention. The methods include administering to an animal an effective amount of a composition of the present invention. The animal can be, for instance, avian (including, for instance, chickens or turkeys), bovine (including, for instance, cattle), caprine (including, for instance, goats), ovine (including, for instance, sheep), porcine (including, for instance, swine), bison (including, for instance, buffalo), equine (including, for instance, horses), a companion animal (including, for instance, dogs or cats), members of the family Cervidae (including, for instance, deer, elk, moose, caribou and reindeer), or human.

In some aspects, the methods may further include additional administrations (e.g., one or more booster administrations) of the composition to the animal to enhance or stimulate a secondary immune response. A booster can be administered at a time after the first administration, for instance, 1 to 8 weeks, preferably 2 to 4 weeks, after the first administration of the composition. Subsequent boosters can be administered one, two, three, four, or more times annually. Without intending to be limited by theory, it is expected that in some aspects of the present invention annual boosters will not be necessary, as an animal will be challenged in the field by exposure to microbes expressing polypeptides present in the compositions having epitopes that are identical to or structurally related to epitopes present on polypeptides of the composition administered to the animal.

In one aspect, the invention is directed to methods for making antibodies, for instance by inducing the production of antibody in an animal, or by recombinant techniques. The antibody produced includes antibody that specifically binds at least one polypeptide present in the composition. In this aspect of the invention, an “effective amount” is an amount effective to result in the production of antibody in the animal. Methods for determining whether an animal has produced antibodies that specifically bind polypeptides present in a composition of the present invention can be determined as described herein. The present invention further includes antibody that specifically bind to a polypeptide of the present invention, and compositions including such antibodies. The method may be used to produce antibody that specifically binds polypeptides expressed by a microbe other than the microbe from which the polypeptides of the composition were isolated. As used herein, an antibody that can “specifically bind” a polypeptide is an antibody that interacts with the epitope of the antigen that induced the synthesis of the antibody, or interacts with a structurally related epitope. At least some of the polypeptides present in the compositions of the present invention typically include epitopes that are conserved in the polypeptides of different species and different genera of microbes. Accordingly, antibody produced using a composition derived from one microbe is expected to bind to polypeptides expressed by other microbes and provide broad spectrum protection against gram positive organisms. Examples of gram positive microbes to which the antibody may specifically bind are Micrococcaceae, preferably, Staphylococcus spp., more preferably, Staphylococcus aureus; members of the family Streptococcaceae, preferably, Streptococcus pyogenes, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Streptococcus agalactiae, Streptococcus uberis, Streptococcus bovis, Streptococcus equi, or Streptococcus dysgalactiae; and Bacillus spp., Clostridium spp., Corynebacterium spp., Enterococcus spp., Erysipelothrix spp., Listeria spp., Micrococcus spp., and Mycobacterium spp., Kytococcus spp., and Erysipelothrix spp.

The present invention is also directed to the use of such antibody to target a microbe expressing a polypeptide of the present invention or a polypeptide having an epitope structurally related to an epitope present on a polypeptide of the present invention. A compound can be covalently bound to an antibody, where the compound can be, for instance, a toxin. Likewise, such compounds can be covalently bound to a bacterial siderophore to target the microbe. The chemical coupling or conjugation of an antibody of the present invention, or a portion thereof (such as an Fab fragment), can be carried out using known and routine methods. In one aspect the invention is also directed to treating an infection in an animal, including a human, caused by a gram positive microbe, preferably by a member of the family Micrococcaceae, preferably, Staphylococcus spp., more preferably, S. aureus; members of the family Streptococcaceae, preferably, Streptococcus pyogenes, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Streptococcus agalactiae, Streptococcus uberis, Streptococcus bovis, Streptococcus equi, or Streptococcus dysgalactiae; Bacillus spp., Clostridium spp., Corynebacterium spp., Enterococcus spp., Erysipelothrix spp., Kytococcus spp., Listeria spp., Micrococcus spp., Mycobacterium spp., and Erysipelothrix spp. As used herein, the term “infection” refers to the presence of a gram positive microbe in an animal's body, which may or may not be clinically apparent. An animal with an infection by a member of the genus Staphylococcus that is not clinically apparent is often referred to as an asymptomatic carrier. The method includes administering an effective amount of the composition of the present invention to an animal having an infection caused by a gram positive microbe, and determining whether the number of microbes causing the infection has decreased. Methods for determining whether an infection is caused by a gram positive microbe are routine and known in the art, as are methods for determining whether the infection has decreased.

In another aspect, the present invention is directed to methods for treating one or more symptoms of certain conditions in an animal that may be caused by infection by a gram positive microbe, preferably by a member of the family Micrococcaceae, preferably, Staphylococcus spp., more preferably, S. aureus; members of the family Streptoococcaceae, preferably, Streptococcus pyogenes, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Streptococcus agalactiae, Streptococcus uberis, Streptococcus bovis, Streptococcus equi, or Streptococcus dysgalactiae; Bacillus spp., Clostridium spp., Corynebacterium spp., Enterococcus spp., Erysipelothrix spp., Kytococcus spp., Listeria spp., Micrococcus spp., Mycobacterium spp., and Erysipelothrix spp. The method includes administering an effective amount of a composition of the present invention to an animal having or at risk of having a condition, or symptoms of a condition, and determining whether at least one symptom of the condition is changed, preferably, reduced. Examples of conditions caused by microbial infections include, for instance, mastitis, septicemia, pneumonia, meningoencephalitis, lymphangitis, dermatitis, genital tract infections, strangles, metritis, perinatal disease, pituitary abscesses, arthritis, bursitis, orchitis, cystitis and pyelonephritis, caseous lymphadenitis, tuberculosis, ulcerative lymphangitis, listeriosis, erysipelas, laminitis, anthrax, tyzzer's disease, tetanus, botulism, enteritis, malignant edema, braxy, bacillary hemoglobinuria, enterotoxemia, necrotic skin lesions, and nosocomial infections. Examples of conditions caused by S. aureus also include, for instance, botryomycosis in horses, purulent synovitis and osteomyelitis in poultry, abortions in swine, and tick pyemia in lambs. Examples of conditions caused by Streptococcus spp. also include, for instance, sore throat, scarlet fever, impetigo, ulcerative endocarditis, rheumatic fever and post streptococcal glomerulonephritis cervicitis in humans, cervicitis in equine and swine, and meningitis and jowl abscesses in swine.

Treatment of symptoms associated with these conditions can be prophylactic or, alternatively, can be initiated after the development of a condition described herein. As used herein, the term “symptom” refers to objective evidence in a subject of a condition caused by infection by a microbe. Symptoms associated with conditions referred to herein and the evaluations of such symptoms are routine and known in the art. Treatment that is prophylactic, for instance, initiated before a subject manifests symptoms of a condition caused by a microbe, is referred to herein as treatment of a subject that is “at risk” of developing the condition. Typically, an animal “at risk” of developing a condition is an animal present in an area where animals having the condition have been diagnosed and/or is likely to be exposed to a microbe causing the condition. Accordingly, administration of a composition can be performed before, during, or after the occurrence of the conditions described herein. Treatment initiated after the development of a condition may result in decreasing the severity of the symptoms of one of the conditions, or completely removing the symptoms. In this aspect of the invention, an “effective amount” is an amount effective to prevent the manifestation of symptoms of a disease, decrease the severity of the symptoms of a disease, and/or completely remove the symptoms. The successful treatment of a gram positive microbial infection in an animal is disclosed in Example 5, which demonstrates the protection against disease caused by S. aureus in mouse models by administering a composition of the present invention. These mouse models are a commonly accepted model for the study of human disease caused by these microbes. The successful treatment of a gram positive microbial infection in an animal is also disclosed in Examples 10-12, which demonstrates the protection against disease caused by S. aureus in cows by administering a composition of the present invention.

The present invention also provides methods for decreasing colonization by gram positive microbes, for instance blocking the attachment sites of gram positive microbe, including tissues of the skeletal system (for instance, bones, cartilage, tendons and ligaments), muscular system, (for instance, skeletal and smooth muscles), circulatory system (for instance, heart, blood vessels, capillaries and blood), nervous system (for instance, brain, spinal cord, and peripheral nerves), respiratory system (for instance, nose, trachea lungs, bronchi, bronchioceles, alveoli), digestive system (for instance, mouth, salivary glands oesophagus liver stomach large and small intestine), excretory system (for instance, kidneys, ureters, bladder and urethra), endocrine system (for instance, hypothalamus, pituitary, thyroid, pancreas and adrenal glands), reproductive system (for instance, ovaries, oviduct, uterus, vagina, mammary glands, testes, and seminal vesicles), lymphatic/immune systems (for instance, lymph, lymph nodes and vessels, mononuclear or white blood cells, such as macrophages, neutrophils, monocytes, eosinophils, basophils, lymphocytes t- and b-cells), and specific cell lineages (for instance, precursor cells, epithelial cells, stem cells), and the like. Preferably, the gram positive microbe is a member of the family Micrococcaceae, preferably, Staphylococcus spp., more preferably, S. aureus; a member of the family Streptooccaceae, preferably, Streptococcus pyogenes, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Streptococcus agalactiae, Streptococcus uberis, Streptococcus bovis, Streptococcus equi, or Streptococcus dysgalactiae; Bacillus spp., Clostridium spp., Corynebacterium spp., Enterococus spp., Erysipelothrix spp., Kytococcus spp., Listeria spp., Micrococcus spp., Mycobacterium spp., and Erysipelothrix spp. The method includes administering an effective amount of a composition of the present invention to an animal colonized by, or at risk of being colonized by, a gram positive microbe. In this aspect of the invention, an “effective amount” is an amount sufficient to decrease colonization of the animal by the microbe. Methods for evaluating the colonization of an animal by a microbe are routine and known in the art. For instance, colonization of an animal's intestinal tract by a microbe can be determined by measuring the presence of the microbe in the animal's feces. It is expected that decreasing the colonization of an animal by a microbe will reduce transmission of the microbe to humans.

A composition of the invention can be used to provide for active or passive immunization against bacterial infection. Generally, the composition can be administered to an animal to provide active immunization. However, the composition can also be used to induce production of immune products, such as antibodies, which can be collected from the producing animal and administered to another animal to provide passive immunity. Immune components, such as antibodies, can be collected to prepare compositions (preferably containing antibody) from serum, plasma, blood, colostrum, etc. for passive immunization therapies. Antibody compositions including monoclonal antibodies and/or anti-idiotypes can also be prepared using known methods. Chimeric antibodies include human-derived constant regions of both heavy and light chains and murine-derived variable regions that are antigen-specific (Morrison et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 1984, 81(21):6851-5; LoBuglio et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 1989, 86(11):4220-4; Boulianne et al., Nature, 1984, 312(5995):643-6.). Humanized antibodies substitute the murine constant and framework (FR) (of the variable region) with the human counterparts (Jones et al., Nature, 1986, 321(6069):522-5; Riechmann et al., Nature, 1988, 332(6162):323-7; Verhoeyen et al., Science, 1988, 239(4847):1534-6; Queen et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 1989, 86(24):10029-33; Daugherty et al., Nucleic Acids Res., 1991, 19(9): 2471-6.). Alternatively, certain mouse strains can be used that have been genetically engineered to produce antibodies that are almost completely of human origin; following immunization the B cells of these mice are harvested and immortalized for the production of human monoclonal antibodies (Bruggeman and Taussig, Curr. Opin. Biotechnol., 1997, 8(4):455-8; Lonberg and Huszar, Int. Rev. Immunol., 1995; 13(1):65-93; Lonberg et al., Nature, 1994, 368:856-9; Taylor et al., Nucleic Acids Res., 1992, 20:6287-95.). Passive antibody compositions and fragments thereof, e.g., scFv, Fab, F(ab′)₂ or Fv or other modified forms thereof, may be administered to a recipient in the form of serum, plasma, blood, colostrum, and the like. However, the antibodies may also be isolated from serum, plasma, blood, colostrum, and the like, using known methods for later use in a concentrated or reconstituted form such as, for instance, lavage solutions, impregnated dressings and/or topical agents and the like. Passive immunization preparations may be particularly advantageous for the treatment of acute systemic illness, or passive immunization of young animals that failed to receive adequate levels of passive immunity through maternal colostrum. Antibodies useful for passive immunization may also be useful to conjugate to various drugs or antibiotics that could be directly targeted to bacteria expressing during a systemic or localized infection a polypeptide of the present invention or a polypeptide having an epitope structurally related to an epitope present on a polypeptide of the present invention.

Animal models, in particular mouse models, are available for experimentally evaluating the compositions of the present invention. These mouse models are commonly accepted models for the study of human disease caused by members of the genus Staphylococcus, and S. aureus in particular. In those cases where a members of the genus Staphylococcus causes disease in an animal, for instance a cow, the natural host can be used to experimentally evaluate the compositions of the present invention.

Another aspect of the present invention provides methods for detecting antibody that specifically binds polypeptides of the present invention. These methods are useful in, for instance, detecting whether an animal has antibody that specifically binds polypeptides of the present invention, and diagnosing whether an animal may have a condition caused by a microbe expressing polypeptides described herein, or expressing polypeptides that share epitopes with the polypeptides described herein. Such diagnostic systems may be in kit form. The methods include contacting an antibody with a preparation that include a polypeptide of the present invention to result in a mixture. The antibody may be present in a biological sample, for instance, blood, milk, or colostrum. The method further includes incubating the mixture under conditions to allow the antibody to specifically bind the polypeptide to form a polypeptide: antibody complex. As used herein, the term polypeptide:antibody complex refers to the complex that results when an antibody specifically binds to a polypeptide. The preparation that includes the polypeptides of the present invention may also include reagents, for instance a buffer, that provide conditions appropriate for the formation of the polypeptide: antibody complex. The polypeptide:antibody complex is then detected. The detection of antibodies is known in the art and can include, for instance, immunofluorescence or peroxidase. The methods for detecting the presence of antibodies that specifically bind to polypeptides of the present invention can be used in various formats that have been used to detect antibody, including radioimmunoassay and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.

The present invention also provides a kit for detecting antibody that specifically binds polypeptides of the present invention. The antibody detected may be obtained from an animal suspected to have an infection caused by a gram positive microbe, more preferably, a member of the family Micrococcaceae, preferably, Staphylococcus spp., more preferably, S. aureus; Streptococcus spp., Bacillus spp., Clostridium spp., Corynebacterium spp., Enterococus spp., Erysipelothrix spp., Kytococcus spp., Listeria spp., Micrococcus spp., Mycobacterium spp., and Erysipelothrix spp.

The kit includes at least one of the polypeptides of the present invention, or a number of polypeptides that is an integer greater than 1 (e.g., at least 2, at least 3, etc.), in a suitable packaging material in an amount sufficient for at least one assay. Optionally, other reagents such as buffers and solutions needed to practice the invention are also included. For instance, a kit may also include a reagent to permit detection of an antibody that specifically binds to a polypeptide of the present invention, such as a detectably labeled secondary antibody designed to specifically bind to an antibody obtained from an animal. Instructions for use of the packaged polypeptides are also typically included. As used herein, the phrase “packaging material” refers to one or more physical structures used to house the contents of the kit. The packaging material is constructed by well known methods, generally to provide a sterile, contaminant-free environment. The packaging material may have a label which indicates that the polypeptides can be used for detecting antibody that specifically binds polypeptides of the present invention. In addition, the packaging material contains instructions indicating how the materials within the kit are employed to detect the antibody. As used herein, the term “package” refers to a container such as glass, plastic, paper, foil, and the like, capable of holding within fixed limits the polypeptides, and other reagents, for instance a secondary antibody. Thus, for example, a package can be a microtiter plate well to which microgram quantities of polypeptides have been affixed. A package can also contain a secondary antibody. “Instructions for use” typically include a tangible expression describing the reagent concentration or at least one assay method parameter, such as the relative amounts of reagent and sample to be admixed, maintenance time periods for reagent/sample admixtures, temperature, buffer conditions, and the like.

The present invention is illustrated by the following examples. It is to be understood that the particular examples, materials, amounts, and procedures are to be interpreted broadly in accordance with the scope and spirit of the invention as set forth herein.

EXAMPLES Example 1 Preparation of Iron Regulated Proteins Laboratory Scale

Compositions derived from different strains of Staphylococcus aureus including novel proteins expressed under iron-restriction and/or other degrees of metal ion chelation were evaluated for efficacy against a virulent challenge in mice. The efficacy of the composition was evaluated by collecting data on the following parameters (1) the efficacy of each composition to provide homologous and heterologous protection against a live virulent challenge in mice, (2) the efficacy of each composition to reduce necrotic skin lesions, and (3) the efficacy of compositions derived from Staphylococcus grown in replete and deplete iron conditions to provide protection.

The Staphylococcus aureus strains evaluated in this study originated from three animal species; avian, human and bovine. The avian isolate SAAV1 was a field isolate originating from a flock of diseased turkeys having a high degree of osteomyelitis and synovitis. The bovine isolates (strain 1477 and strain 2176) were isolated from two different commercial dairy herds having a high incidence of clinical mastitis. The human isolate was obtained from the ATCC (strain 19636), and originated from a patient having clinical osteomyelitis.

Master seed stocks of each isolate were prepared by inoculating the appropriate isolate into 200 ml of Tryptic Soy Broth (TSB, Difco Laboratories, Detroit, Mich.) containing 300 μM 2,2-dipyridyl (Sigma-Aldrich St. Louis, Mo.). The culture was grown while stirring at 200 rpm for 6 hours at 37° C., and collected by centrifugation at 10,000×g. The bacterial pellet was re-suspended into 100 ml TSB broth containing 20% glycerol, and sterilely dispensed into 2 ml cryogenic vials (1 ml per vial) and stored at −90° C. until use.

Each master seed stock was expanded into a working seed. One vial of each master seed isolate was inoculated into 200 ml of Tryptic Soy Broth (TSB, Difco Laboratories, Detroit, Mich.) containing 1000 μM 2,2-dipyridyl (Sigma-Aldrich St. Louis, Mo.). The culture was grown while stirring at 200 rpm for 6 hours at 37° C., and collected by centrifugation at 10,000×g. The bacterial pellet was resuspended into 100 ml TSB broth containing 20% glycerol, and sterilely dispensed into 2 ml cryogenic vials (1 ml per vial) and stored at −90° C. until use. The working seed was used for the production of compositions enriched with iron-regulated membrane proteins, including iron-regulated membrane proteins.

All strains were adapted to grow in highly iron-depleted media (i.e., media containing very low levels of free iron). This was accomplished by sub-culturing the bacteria in TSB containing increasing concentrations of 2,2-dipyridyl (from 300 to 1600 μM).

Proteins were prepared from bacteria as follows. The bacteria were grown from frozen working seed stocks by subculturing into 25 ml of iron-deplete media (containing 1000 μM 2,2′-dyipyridyl) and iron-replete media, then incubated at 37° C. while shaking at 400 rpm. Following 12 hours of incubation, 5 ml of each culture was transferred into 500 ml of iron-deplete or iron-replete media pre-incubated at 37° C. Cultures were incubated for 8 hours at 37° C. while shaking at 100 rpm, then cells were pelleted by centrifugation at 10,000×g for 20 minutes. Bacterial pellets were resuspended in 100 ml of sterile physiological saline and centrifuged at 10,000×g for 10 minutes. Pellets were then resuspended in 45 ml of Tris-buffered saline, pH 7.2 (TBS; 25 mM Tris, 150 mM NaCl) and the resulting bacterial suspensions were dispensed as 9-ml aliquots into 5 individual tubes. One milliliter of TBS containing 50 units of lysostaphin (Sigma, St. Louis, Mo.) was added to each tube to give a final volume of 5 units/ml. Following incubation at 37° C. for 30 minutes while shaking at 200 rpm, 1 ml of TBS containing 0.1 mg of lysozyme (Sigma) was added to each tube. The bacterial suspensions were then incubated for an additional 45 minutes while shaking at 200 rpm. Next, suspensions were centrifuged at 3050×g for 12 minutes at 4° C. to pellet large cellular debris. The supernatants were collected by aspiration without disturbing the pellet. The supernatant was then centrifuged at 39,000×g for 2.5 hours. The resulting pellets containing the proteins were resuspended into 200 μL Tris buffer, pH 7.2, without saline. The protein solution for each isolate were combined for a total volume of 1 ml and stored at −90° C.

The protein-enriched extracts derived from S. aureus were size-fractionated on SDS-PAGE gels using a 4% stacking gel and 10% resolving gel. Samples for electrophoresis were prepared by combining 10 μl of sample with 30 μl of SDS reducing sample buffer (62.5 mM Tris-HCL pH 6.8, 20% glycerol, 2% SDS, 5% β-mercaptoethanol) and boiled for 4 minutes. Samples were electrophoresed at 18 mA constant current for 5 hours at 4° C. using a Protein II xi cell power supply (BioRad Laboratories, Richmond, Calif., model 1000/500). The molecular weight of each individual protein as visually seen in the SDS-PAGE gel was estimated using a GS-800 densitometer (BioRad) using a broad range molecular weight marker as a reference standard (BioRad).

The SDS-PAGE patterns of the proteins from each isolate when grown in the presence of 1600 μM dipyridyl showed a very different protein expression pattern compared to the same strain when grown in the presence of 300 μM dipyridyl. For instance, when grown in 300 μM dipyridyl isolate SAAV1 resulted in metal regulated proteins of 90 kDa, 84 kDa, 72 kDa, 66 kDa, 36 kDa, 32 kDa, and 22 kDa, while growth in 1600 μM dipyridyl resulted in metal regulated proteins of 87.73 kDa, 54.53 kDa, 38.42 kDa, 37.37 kDa, 35.70 kDa, 34.91 kDa, and 33.0 kDa. Likewise, when grown in 300 μM dipyridyl isolate 19636 resulted in proteins of 42 kDa and 36 kDa, while growth in 1600 μM dipyridyl resulted in metal regulated proteins of 87.73 kDa, 54.53 kDa, 38.42 kDa, 37.37 kDa, 35.70 kDa, 34.91 kDa, and 33.0 kDa. All conditions, including growth in iron-replete media, resulted in the expression of the following proteins that were presumably not metal regulated: 150 kDa, 132 kDa, 120 kDa, 75 kDa, 58 kDa, 50 kDa, 44 kDa 43 kDa 41 kDa, and 40 kDa.

Furthermore, growth of the different strains of S. aureus in 1600 dipyridyl resulted in similar protein expression patterns. The compositions enriched in iron-regulated membrane proteins from the avian isolate (SAAV1) included proteins with molecular weights of 87.73 kDa, 54.53 kDa, 38.42 kDa, 37.37 kDa, 35.70 kDa, 34.91 kDa, and 33.0 kDa. The molecular weights of the proteins from the ATCC isolate 19636 were essentially identical to those from the avian isolate. Both bovine isolates, when grown with 1600 μM 2,2-dipyridyl, expressed similar banding profiles as the avian and ATCC isolates for the majority of the proteins (87.73 kDa, 54.53 kDa, 37.7 kDa, 35.70 kDa, 34.91 kDa, and 33.0 kDa). However, neither of the bovine isolates produced the 38.42 kDa protein seen with the avian and ATCC isolates, and the bovine isolates expressed three proteins (80.46 kDa, 65.08 kDa, and 31.83 kDa) not observed with the avian and ATCC strains (see FIG. 1 and Table 10). All conditions resulted in the expression of the following proteins that were not metal regulated: 150 kDa, 132 kDa, 120 kDa, 75 kDa, 58 kDa, 50 kDa, 44 kDa, 43 kDa, 41 kDa, and 40 kDa.

TABLE 10 Molecular weights of metal regulated polypeptides obtained from Staphylococcus aureus isolates. Avian Human Bovine Bovine SAAV1 19636 1477 2176 87.73 87.73 87.73 87.73 — — 80.46 80.46 — — 65.08 65.08 54.53 54.53 54.53 54.53 38.42 38.42 — — 37.37 37.37 37.37 37.37 35.70 35.70 35.70 35.70 34.91 34.91 34.91 34.91 33.0  33.0  33.0  33.0  31.83 31.83

Interestingly, there was no difference in the protein profiles as examined by SDS-PAGE between the clarified supernatant and the bacterial pellet after treating the bacteria with lysostaphin/lysozyme. Both the extracted bacterial pellet and the supernatant had exactly the same protein profiles as examined by SDS-PAGE. This same observation was also seen when disrupting the bacterial cells using an Avestin homogenizer at 30,000 psi. The resultant bacterial pellet, after slow speed centrifugation was identical in its protein profile as compared to the clarified supernatant after high speed centrifugation at 30,000×g for 2.0 hours at 4° C.

Example 2 Preparation of the Immunizing Compositions Derived from Staphylococcus aureus

The proteins from the human isolate ATCC 19636 and the bovine isolate 1477, grown in iron-deplete conditions and prepared as described in Example 1, were used to formulate two vaccine compositions. The proteins from the ATCC isolate had molecular weights of 87.73 kDa, 54.53 kDa, 38.42 kDa, 37.37 kDa, 35.70 kDa, 34.91 kDa, and 33.0 kDa, while the bovine isolate expressed proteins having molecular weights 87.73 kDa, 80.46 kDa, 65.08 kDa, 54.53 kDa, 37.37 kDa, 35.70 kDa, 34.91 kDa, 33.0 kDa, and 31.83. Each composition also contained the following proteins that were not metal regulated: 150 kDa, 132 kDa, 120 kDa, 75 kDa, 58 kDa, 50 kDa, 44 kDa, 43 kDa, 41 kDa, and 40 kDa. Stock vaccines were prepared from the two strains by emulsifying each aqueous protein suspension (500 μg total protein/ml) into a commercial adjuvant (EMULSIGEN, MVP Laboratories, Ralston, Nebr.) using an IKA Ultra Turrax T-50 homogenizing vessel (IKA, Cincinnati, Ohio) to give a final dose of 50 μg total protein in a 0.1 ml injectable volume with an adjuvant concentration of 22.5% vol/vol. As a control vaccination, a protein composition was prepared from the bovine isolate 1477 grown under iron-replete conditions (TSB supplemented with 300 μM ferric chloride) as described in Example 1. A placebo vaccine was prepared by substituting physiological saline for the aqueous protein suspension in the above protocol.

Example 3 Mouse Vaccination

Seventy (N=70) female CF-I mice obtained from Harlan Breeding Laboratories (Indianapolis, Ind.) weighing 16-22 grams were equally distributed into 7 groups (10 mice/group). Mice were housed in polycarbonate mouse cages (Ancore Corporation, Bellmore, N.Y.). A single cage was used for each treatment group and food and water was supplied ad libitum to all mice. All mice were vaccinated intraperitoneally with 0.1 ml of the appropriate composition two times at 14 day intervals as follows:

-   -   Group-1: Placebo-Vaccinated     -   Group-2: Vaccinated with ATCC 19636 proteins expressed under         iron-restriction.     -   Group-3: Placebo-Vaccinated     -   Group-4: Vaccinated with Bovine 1477 proteins expressed under         iron-restriction.     -   Group-5: Vaccinated with Bovine 1477 proteins expressed under         iron-restriction.     -   Group-6: Vaccinated with ATCC 19636 proteins expressed under         iron-restriction.     -   Group-7: Bovine 1477 FeCl₃-Vaccinated, where “Bovine 1477 FeCl₃”         refers to proteins obtained from Bovine 1477 grown in TSB         supplemented with 300 μM ferric chloride.

Example 4 Preparation of Challenge Organism

The previously described Staphylococcus aureus strains ATCC 19636 and strain 1477 were used as challenge organisms. Briefly, the isolates from frozen stocks (previously described) were streaked onto blood agar plates and incubated at 37° C. for 18 hours. A single colony of each isolate was subcultured into 50 ml Tryptic Soy Broth (Difco) containing 1600 μM 2,2′ dipyridyl. The cultures were incubated at 37° C. for 6 hours while rotating at 200 rpm, then centrifuged at 10,000×g for 10 minutes at 4° C. to pellet the bacteria. The bacterial pellets were washed twice by centrifugation in TBS at 4° C. The final pellets were resuspended in TBS to an optical density of 42% Transmittance (T) at 562 nm in a volume of approximately 25 ml of TBS and used for challenge. Just prior to challenge, 1 ml of these bacterial suspensions was serially diluted and plated on agar to enumerate the number of colony-forming units (CFU) per mouse dose.

Example 5 Challenge

Fourteen days after the second vaccination, mice in all groups (1-7) were subcutaneously challenged in the back of the neck with 0.1 ml of the appropriate organism. The seven groups of mice were challenged as follows:

-   -   Group-1 (Placebo-Vaccinated): Challenged with ATCC 19636     -   Group-2 (Vaccinated with ATCC 19636 proteins expressed under         iron-restriction): Challenged with ATCC 19636     -   Group-3 (Placebo-Vaccinated): Challenged with Bovine 1477     -   Group-4 (Vaccinated Bovine 1477 proteins expressed under         iron-restriction): Challenged with Bovine 1477     -   Group-5 (Vaccinated Bovine 1477 proteins expressed under         iron-restriction): Challenged with ATCC 19636     -   Group-6 (Vaccinated ATCC 19636 proteins expressed under         iron-restriction): Challenged with Bovine 1477     -   Group-7 (Bovine 1477 FeCl₃-Vaccinated): Challenged with Bovine         1477

As determined by the enumeration protocol described in Example 4, the concentration of S. aureus 19636 used for challenge was 1.35×10⁸ CFU per mouse dose, and the concentration of S. aureus 1477 used for challenge was 1.65×10⁸ colony CFU per mouse dose. Morbidity, mortality and gross pathology were recorded daily for 7 days after challenge.

When comparing the mice challenged with the ATCC 19636 isolate, 70% of the placebo-vaccinated Group 1 mice died within 7 days of challenge (Table 11 and FIG. 2). This demonstrated that strain 19636 caused a high rate of mortality in mice at the dose level administered. In contrast to the mice in Group 1, only 10% of the mice in Group 2 died within 7 days post-challenge. These results illustrated that the mice challenged with strain 19636 were significantly protected by vaccination with the 19636 composition (p=0.020, Fischer's Exact test). Furthermore, a Kaplan-Meier analysis of the time-to-death data indicated that the vaccine afforded significant (p=0.0042, logrank test) protection against homologous challenge (FIG. 3). In addition, only 20% of the mice in Group 5 died within 7 days of challenge, indicating that the bovine 1477 composition offered significant protection against challenge with the ATCC 19636 strain (p=0.015 logrank test for mortality). When the data was analyzed by a Kaplan-Meier survival curve and logrank test (FIG. 4), the protection against mortality was determined to be significant (p=0.015 logrank test for mortality), indicating that the vaccine composition derived from strain 1477 provided heterologous protection against challenge with strain 19636.

TABLE 11 Mortality of Vaccinated and Non-Vaccinated Mice Following Challenge with Staphylococcus aureus (human ATCC isolate 19636 and bovine isolate 1477). Percent Groups # Mice # Dead mortality (%) Group-1* (Placebo, ATCC 19636 10 7/10 70 Chlg) Group-2* (ATCC 19636, 10 1/10 10 Homologous Chlg) Group-3* (Placebo, Bovine 1477 10 2/10 20 Chlg) Group-4* (Bovine 1477, 10 1/10 10 Homologous Chlg) Group-5* (Bovine 1477, 10 2/10 20 Heterologous Chlg) Group-6* (ATCC 19636, 10 0/10 0 Heterologous Chlg) Group-7* (Bovine 1477 FeCl₃, 10 2/10 20 Bovine 1477 Chlg) *Group-1, (Placebo-Vaccinated/Challenged with ATCC 19636) *Group-2 (Vaccinated with ATCC 19636 proteins expressed under iron-restriction/Challenged with ATCC 19636) *Group-3 (Placebo-Vaccinated/Challenged with Bovine 1477) *Group-4 (Vaccinated with Bovine 1477 proteins expressed under iron-restriction/Challenged with Bovine 1477) *Group-5 (Vaccinated with Bovine 1477 proteins expressed under iron-restriction/Challenged with ATCC 19636) *Group-6 (Vaccinated with ATCC 19636 proteins expressed under iron-restriction/Challenged with Bovine 1477) *Group-7 (Bovine 1477 FeCl₃-Vaccinated/Challenged with Bovine 1477)

When comparing the mice challenged with the bovine 1477 isolate, only 20% of the mice in the placebo-vaccinated group (Group 3) died within 7 days of challenge. However, challenge with the bovine 1477 isolate elicited the development of necrotic skin lesions on 6 (75%) of the surviving mice of Group 3. These lesions were measured and the average size of the lesions on the surviving mice was 18.5 mm (Table 12). In contrast, 20% of the Group 4 mice died within 7 days of challenge, but only three (38%) of the surviving mice developed lesions (average diameter, 2.7 mm). These results indicate that the bovine 1477 composition offered significant homologous protection against development of lesions in the mice challenged with the bovine strain 1477 (p=0.009, Student's t-test). In addition, vaccination with the ATCC 19636 composition protected against challenge with strain 1477, since no mice died in Group 6 and only three (30%) of the mice developed skin lesions (average diameter, 3.7 mm). Taken together, the reduced mortality and/or lesion development in the mice in Groups 5 and 6 demonstrate the significant cross-protective nature of the compositions derived from strains 19636 and 1477 (p=0.012, Student's t-test based on lesion size). In demonstration of the efficacy of the composition as compared to the non-iron regulated proteins, 20% of the mice in Group 7 died and 4 of the survivors developed skin lesions (average diameter, 15.8 mm). The mice of Group 7 demonstrated some degree of protection by vaccination with the proteins of the 1477 isolate since fewer mice developed lesions compared to the placebo-vaccinated Group 3. However, the skin lesions observed on the mice in group 7 were more frequent and of a larger diameter than the lesions on the mice of Group 4, indicating that, relative to proteins isolated from cells grown under iron-replete conditions, the proteins isolated from bacteria grown under iron restriction offered superior protection against an identical challenge.

TABLE 12 The Induction of Necrotic Lesions in Mice Seven Days Post-Challenge with Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC Isolate 19636 and/or Bovine Isolate 1477) Lesion diameter (millimeter) per mouse Group-1 Group-2 Group-3 Group-4 Group-5 Group-6 Group-7 No No lesion 26 5 5 5 25 lesion No No lesion 25 2 No lesion 5 25 lesion No No lesion 24 1 No lesion 1 10 lesion Dead No lesion 24 No lesion No lesion No lesion 3 Dead No lesion 7 No lesion No lesion No lesion No lesion Dead No lesion 5 No lesion No lesion No lesion No lesion Dead No lesion No lesion No lesion No lesion No lesion No lesion Dead No lesion No lesion No lesion No lesion No lesion No lesion Dead No lesion Dead No lesion Dead No lesion Dead Dead Dead Dead Dead Dead No lesion Dead Average lesion diameter (mm) among surviving mice 0 0 18.5 2.7 5 3.7 15.8 *Group-1, (Placebo-Vaccinated/Challenged ATCC 19636) *Group-2 (Vaccinated with ATCC 19636 proteins expressed under iron-restriction /Challenged ATCC 19636) *Group-3 (Placebo-Vaccinated/Challenged Bovine 1477) *Group-4 (Vaccinated with Bovine 1477 proteins expressed under iron-restriction /Challenged Bovine 1477) *Group-5 (Vaccinated with Bovine 1477 proteins expressed under iron-restriction /Challenged ATCC 19636) *Group-6 (Vaccinated with ATCC 19636 proteins expressed under iron-restriction /Challenged Bovine 1477) *Group-7 (Bovine 1477 FeCl₃ Vaccinated/Challenged Bovine 1477)

The cross-protective nature of the proteins observed in the mouse challenge study is supported by the similar molecular weights of the proteins from the S. aureus strains described in Example 1 (FIG. 1). Although there were noticeable differences in the SDS-PAGE profile of the proteins from the bovine-derived isolates, specifically the absence of a 38.4 kDa protein and the presence of 3 additional proteins, the proteins from both strains 1477 and ATCC 19636 elicited heterologous protection. These results indicate that the similar proteins between strains 19636 and 1477 are likely responsible for the cross-protection observed in Groups 5 and 6. By contrast, the protein profiles from strain 1477 grown under iron-deplete and iron-replete conditions are observably different. Those proteins isolated under iron-depleted conditions are more protective when compared to the proteins isolated under iron-replete conditions, demonstrated by the reduction in lesion development among the mice of Group 4 compared to the mice of Group 7.

Example 6

In mammals, it has been shown that the response to tissue injury or bacterial infection results in an acute inflammatory response. This response increases capillary permeability and phagocytic infiltration resulting in the clinical signs recognized as inflammation; swelling, fever, pain and redness; if left uncontrolled, this may lead to death. The activation of humoral factors and the release of cytokines mediate systemic events collectively known as the acute phase protein response which results in a cascade of physiological and biochemical events. The duration of this response is directly related to the severity of the injury and magnitude of the systemic infection. It has been well-documented that during bacterial sepsis, major surgery, burns and other bodily trauma there is an alteration in the concentration of a number of metal ions in serum such as, iron, copper, and zinc. For instance, during the acute phase of an infection there is a decrease in plasma levels of iron and zinc and an increase in copper. The alteration of these trace metal ions in serum may directly affect the severity or progression of any bacterial infection.

In this study we examined the expression of proteins of Staphylococcus aureus under various conditions of metal ion restriction in order to mimic the expression of novel proteins that may be expressed during systemic invasion. The Staphylococcus aureus strains evaluated in this study originated from clinical samples of three different species of animal; avian (strain SAAV1), human (strain 19636), and bovine (strains 1477 and 2176). Briefly, cultures of each isolate were prepared from master seed stocks in 200 ml of Tryptic Soy Broth (TSB). Each culture was grown while stirring at 200 rpm for 6 hours at 37° C. Ten ml of each culture were transferred into 500 ml of deplete TSB containing one of four metal ion chelators; 2,2-dipyridyl (Dp), 2-pyridylmethyl-ethylene diamine (TPEN), catechin, and naringenin (all obtained from Sigma, St. Louis, Mo.). In addition each culture was also grown in cation-replete media containing ferric chloride, zinc chloride and/or copper chloride prepared at 300 concentrations. The metal ion chelators were used at the following concentration; 2,2-dipyridyl (800 μM), catechin and naringenin were used at 300 μM, and 2-pyridylmethyl-ethylene diamine was used at a concentration of 100 μM. Cultures were grown with each chelator for 8 hours, at which point the culture was subcultured a second time for an additional 12 hours. Each culture was subcultured for three consecutive passes at 12-hour intervals. At the end of the third pass, each culture was harvested by centrifugation at 10,000×g for 20 minutes. Each culture was washed twice by centrifugation at 10,000×g and resuspended in 20 ml Tris-buffered saline, pH 7.2 at 4° C.

Each bacterial pellet was resuspended in 45 ml of Tris-buffered saline, pH 7.2 (25 mM Tris and 150 mM NaCl) and the resulting bacterial suspensions were dispensed as 9-ml aliquots into 5 individual tubes, twenty tubes total. One milliliter of TBS containing 50 units of lysostaphin (Sigma, St. Louis, Mo.) was added to each tube to give a final concentration of 5 units/ml. Following incubation at 37° C. for 30 minutes while shaking at 200 rpm, 1 ml of TBS containing 0.1 mg of lysozyme (Sigma) was added to each tube. The bacterial suspensions were then incubated for an additional 45 minutes while shaking at 200 rpm. Next, suspensions were centrifuged at 3050×g for 12 minutes at 4° C. to pellet large cellular debris. The supernatants were collected by aspiration without disturbing the pellet. The supernatant was then centrifuged at 39,000×g for 2.5 hours. The resulting pellets, enriched for metal-regulated membrane proteins, were resuspended in 200 μL Tris buffer, pH 7.2. The protein solutions for each isolate were combined for a total volume of 1 ml and stored at −90° C.

The proteins obtained from the SAAV1, 19636, 1477 and 2176 S. aureus isolates grown under iron, zinc and copper deplete conditions included metal-regulated polypeptides.

Cell extracts, derived from each isolate were size-fractionated on SDS-PAGE gels using a 4% stacking gel and 10% resolving gel. Samples for electrophoresis were prepared by combining 10 μl of sample with 30 μl of SDS reducing sample buffer (62.5 mM Tris-HCL ph 6.8, 20% glycerol, 2% SDS, 5% beta-mercaptoethanol) boiled for 4 minutes. Samples were electrophoresed at 18 mA of constant current for 5 hours at 4° C. using a Protein II xi cell power supply (BioRad Laboratories, Richmond, Calif., model 1000/500).

The SDS-PAGE patterns of the proteins grown under zinc and/or copper chelation showed unique banding patterns in all isolates that were different when compared to the same isolates grown under iron-restriction in the presence of 2,2′-dyipyridyl. For example, when the 19636 isolate was grown under iron-restriction or in the presence of the chelator 2,2′-dyipyridyl, unique iron-regulated proteins were expressed at the 87.73 kDa, 54.53 kDa, 38.42 kDa, 37.37 kDa, 35.70 kDa, 34.91 kDa and 33.0 kDa regions. These proteins were downregulated when the isolate was grown in the presence of ferric chloride. However, when the same isolate was grown in the presence of the zinc and or copper chelator, a novel subsets of proteins was expressed relative to the proteins expressed under iron-restriction; the new proteins having molecular weights of approximately 115 kDa, 88 kDa, 80 kDa, 71 kDa, 69 kDa, 35 kDa, 30 kDa, 29, kDa and 27 kDa. In addition, an 87.73 kDa protein was expressed under conditions of iron restriction or copper-restriction but not when cultures were zinc-restricted. The proteins expressed under iron-restriction appeared to be downregulated when growth was under either zinc-restriction and/or copper-restriction, but not completely shut off as seen when the isolate was grown in ferric chloride.

It appears that there are novel proteins expressed when the organism is grown under copper-restriction and/or zinc-restriction that are not expressed when the same isolate is grown under iron-restricted conditions. Since transitional metals are used by organisms to build enzymes that catalyze various biochemical reactions, the metal ions may play a vital role in microbial survival during a systemic infection. It is perhaps for this reason that during sepsis there is a transient decrease in the availability of these transitional metals, making them unavailable for growth of the organism. These novel proteins could very well enhance the protective efficacy of the existing composition grown under iron-restriction because they may also be expressed by the bacteria under the metal ion restriction experienced during systemic invasion.

Example 7 Compositions of the Present Invention can Also be Produced Under Large Scale Commercial Conditions Fermentation

A cryogenic vial of the working seed (2 ml at 10⁹ CFU/ml) as described in Example 1 was used to inoculate 500 ml of Tryptic Soy Broth (TSB) without dextrose (Difco) pre-warmed to 37° C. containing 0.125 g/l 2,2-dipyridyl (Sigma), 2.7 grams BiTek yeast extract (Difco) and glycerol (3% vol/vol). The culture was incubated at 37° C. for 12 hours while stirring at 200 rpm at which time it was used to inoculate 2 liters of the above media and allowed to grow for an additional 4 hours at 37° C. This culture was used to inoculate a 20-liter Virtis bench-top fermentor, (Virtis, Gardiner, N.Y.) charged with 13 liters of the above-described media. The pH was held constant between 6.9 and 7.1 by automatic titration with 50% NaOH and 10% HCL. The stirring speed was adjusted at 400 rev/minute, and the culture aerated with 11 liters air/minute at 37° C. Foaming was controlled automatically by the addition of 11 ml defoamer (Mazu DF 204 Chem/Serv, Minneapolis, Minn.). The culture was allowed to grow continuously at these conditions for 4 hours at which time was sterilely pumped into a 150-liter fermentor (W. B. Moore, Easton, Pa.). The fermentor was charged with 120 liters tryptic soy broth without dextrose (3,600.0 grams), BiTek yeast extract (600 grams), glycerol (3,600 ml), 2,2-dypyrdyl (3.0 grams) and Mazu DF 204 defoamer (60 ml). The parameters of the fermentation were as follows: dissolved oxygen (DO) was maintained at 30%+/−10% by increasing agitation to 220 rev/minute sparged with 60 liters of air/minute and 10 pounds per square inch (psi) back pressure. The pH was held constant between 6.9 and 7.1 by automatic titration with 50% NaOH and 10% HCL and the temperature maintained at 37° C. At hour 4.5 (OD₅₄₀ 8-9) of the fermentation the culture was transferred to a 1,500 liter New Brunswick Scientific fermentor IF-15000 charged with 1200 liters tryptic soy broth without dextrose (36,000 grams), BiTek yeast extract (6,000 grams), glycerol (36,000 ml), 2,2-dypyrdyl (30.0 grams) and Mazu DF 204 defoamer (600 ml). The parameters of the fermentation were as follows: dissolved oxygen (DO) was maintained at 60%+/−10% with supplemental oxygen by increasing agitation to 300 rev/minute sparged with 300 to 1100 liters of air/minute and 5 pounds per square inch (psi) back pressure. As fermentation progressed supplemental oxygen was added from 0-90 liters/minute to assist in the control of dissolved oxygen. The pH was held constant between 6.9 and 7.4 by automatic titration with 50% NaOH and 10% HCL and the temperature was maintained at 37° C.

At approximately 5 hours post inoculation of the large fermentor the culture was supplemented with additional nutrients by feeding 70 liters of media containing 18,000 grams TSB without dextrose, 3,000 grams yeast extract 30.0 grams 2,2-dipyridyl and 18,000 ml of glycerol. The rate of feed was adjusted to approximately 28 liters/hour while increasing agitation. At the end of the feed the fermentation was allowed to continue for an additional 4 hours at which point the fermentation was terminated by lowing the temperature of the fermentor to 18° C. (OD₅₄₀ 35-40 at a 1:100 dilution).

Harvest

The bacterial fermentation was concentrated and washed using a Pall Filtron Tangential Flow Maxiset-25 (Pall Filtron Corporation, Northboro, Mass.) equipped with three 30 ft² Alpha 300-K open channel filters, catalog No. AS30005, (Pall Filtron) connected to a Waukesha Model U-60 feed pump (Waukesha Chemy-Burrell, Delevan, Wis.) The original culture volume of 1250 liters was reduced to 50 liters (2.5 liters/minute) using a filter inlet pressure of 30 psi and a retentate pressure of 5-6 psi. The bacterial retentate was adjusted back up to 150 liters using Tris-buffered Saline pH 8.5 and then concentrated again to 50 liters to help remove any contaminating exogenous proteins, such as exoproteins to include secreted toxins and proteases. The elevated pH of the tris-buffered saline helps prevent much of the proteolytic degradation that can occur during storage of the whole cell suspension. Protease inhibitors may be used instead of, or in addition to, an elevated pH. The retentate was mixed thoroughly while in the 200-liter tank using a bottom mount magnetically driven mixer. The retentate was sterilely dispensed (3.5 liters) into sterile 4 liter Nalgene containers No. 2122 and placed into a −20° C. freezer for storage as a breaking point in the manufacture, or could be further processed. The pellet mass was calculated by centrifuging 30 ml samples of the fermented culture and final harvest. Briefly, pre-weighted 50 ml Nalgene conical tubes were centrifuged at 39,000×g for 90 minutes in a Beckman J2-21 centrifuge using a JA-21 rotor (Beckman Instruments, Palo Alto Calif.). At the end of the run, the supernate was poured off and the tubes were weighed again. The pellet mass was calculated for each stage. The fermentation process yielded a wet pellet mass of approximately 60 kilograms.

Disruption

Eighty kilograms of bacterial cell slurry in Tris-buffered Saline pH 8.5 was aseptically transferred into a steam in place 1000 liter jacketed process tank (Lee, Model 259LU) with a top mounted mixer (Eastern, Model TME-1/2, EMI Incorporated, Clinton, Conn.) containing 900 liters TBS pH 8.5. The bulk bacterial suspension was chilled to 4° C. with continuous mixing for 18 hours at 200 rpm at which time was disrupted by homogenization. Briefly, the 1000 liter tank containing the bacterial suspension was connected to a model C-500-B Avestin Homogenizer, (Avestin Inc, Ottawa Canada). A second 1000 liter jacketed process tank (empty) was connected to the homogenizer such that the fluid in the process tank could be passed through the homogenizer, into the empty tank and back again, allowing for multiple homogenizing passes while still maintaining a closed system. The temperature during homogenization was kept at 4° C. At the start of the first pass, fluid was circulated at 70 psi via a Waukesha model 10DO pump (Waukesha) through the homogenizer (500 gallons/hour), while the homogenizer pressure was adjusted to 30,000 psi. Prior to the first pass, two pre-homogenizing samples were withdrawn from the homogenizer to establish a baseline for determining the degree of disruption and monitoring of pH. The degree of disruption was monitored by transmittance (% T at 540 nm at 1:100 dilution) compared to the non-homogenized sample. The number of passes through the homogenizer was standardized to give a final percent transmittance between 78-91% T at a 1:100 dilution preferably between 86-91%. After homogenization, the tank was removed from the homogenizer and put onto a chiller loop at 4° C. and mixed at 240 rpm.

Protein Harvest

The disrupted bacterial suspension containing the iron-regulated proteins as illustrated in FIG. 1 were collected by centrifugation using T-1 Sharples, (Alfa Laval Seperations, Warminster, Pa.). Briefly, the 1000 liter jacketed process tank containing the disrupted bacterial homogenate was fed into 12 Sharples with a feed rate of 250 ml/minute at 17 psi at a centrifugal force of 60,000×g. The effluent was collected into a second 1000 liter jacketed process tank through a closed sterile loop allowing for multiple passes through the centrifuges while maintaining a closed system. The temperature during centrifugation was kept at 4° C. The homogentae was passed 8 times across the centrifuges. Approximately 50% of the protein was collected after the second pass, at which point, the homogenate fluid was concentrated to ⅓ of its original volume, which shortened the process time for the next 6 passes. The homogenate tank was aseptically disconnected from the centrifuges and connected to a Millipore Pellicon Tangential Flow Filter assembly (Millipore Corporation, Bedford, Mass.), equipped with a 25 ft² screen-channel series Alpha 30K Centrasette filter (Pall Filtron) connected to a Waukesha Model U30 feed pump for concentration. After concentration, centrifugation was continued until the process was completed. Protein was collected after each pass. The protein was collected, resuspended and dispensed in 50 liters Tris-buffered saline pH 8.5 containing 0.15% formulin (Sigma) as preservative.

Diafiltration

The protein suspension was washed by diafiltration at 4° C. to remove any exogenous proteins (proteases, toxins, cytoplasmic and metabolic enzymes etc). Briefly, the 50 liters of protein was sterilely transferred into a 200 liter process tank containing 150 liters sterile Tris-buffer saline, pH 8.5 equipped with a bottom mount Dayton mixer, Model 2Z846 (Dayton Electric, Chicago, Ill.) rotating at 125 rev/minute. The process tank was sterilely connected to a Millipore Pellicon Tangential Flow Filter assembly (Millipore Corporation), equipped with a 25 ft² screen-channel series Alpha 30K Centrasette filter (Pall Filtron) connected to a Waukesha Model U30 feed pump. The 200 liter protein solution was concentrated by filtration to a target volume 50 liters at which point 150 liters of sterile saline was added. The protein suspension was then concentrated to approximately 50 liters. The protein concentrate was stored in a 50 liter jacketed process tank equipped with a top mounted mixer and stored at 4° C.

It is interesting to note that the composition derived from the large scale process using homogenization as a means of disruption generated identical banding profiles as examined by SDS-PAGE as compared to the smaller scale process described in Example 1. These results show that lysostaphin could be replaced as the bacterial lysis agent using the Avestin homogenizer C500-B. This discovery allows for the low cost generation of large volumes of iron-regulated proteins from staphlylococci.

Example 8 Hyper-Immunization of Mice and Preparation of Polyclonal Antibody

Passive immunization with purified antibody isolated from mice vaccinated with proteins derived from S. aureus strains 19636 grown under iron-limiting conditions was protective against a homologous and heterologous S. aureus challenge. Fifteen adult CD1 mice were vaccinated as described in Example 3 with the protein composition derived from S. aureus strain ATCC19636 grown under iron-deplete conditions as described in Examples 1 and 2. Mice were vaccinated intraperitoneally 3 times at 7 day intervals with 50 μg of protein composition at each vaccination. Seven days after the third immunization, mice were bled completely by cardiac puncture. Serum was pooled and antibody purified using standard ammonium sulfate precipitation. Exogenous serum proteins were removed first prior to antibody precipitation by adding 0.5 volumes of saturated ammonium sulfate pH 7.2. The solution was stirred at 100 rpm for 24 hours at 4° C. The solution was again centrifuged at 3000×g for 30 minutes. The supernatant was collected and precipitated again by adding enough saturated ammonium sulfate to bring the final concentration to 55% saturation. The solution was stirred at 100 rpm for 24 hours at 4° C. The precipitate was centrifuged at 3000×g for 30 minutes. The final pellet from each sample was resuspended into 2 ml PBS pH 7.2. The precipitated antibodies were then dialyzed using a 50,000 molecular cut off dialysis tubing (Pierce, Rockford Il.) for 30 hours against three 1 liter changes of phosphate-buffered saline to remove ammonium sulfate. The first two liter changes were preserved with 0.02% sodium azide. The final 1 liter buffer change contained no preservative. The dialysate was collected and centrifuged again to remove any remaining debris at 3000×g for 30 minutes. The antibody solution was stored at 4° C. for less then 48 hours prior to use. Each sample was plated on blood agar to verify sterility prior to infusion.

Example 9 Passive Immunization and Challenge

In order to evaluate the protective effect of infused antibody raised against S. aureus proteins expressed during iron-limitation, two groups of 15 mice each were infused intraperitoneally with either the purified antibody preparation (Group 1) or physiological saline (Group 2) in a 200 μL infusion. An additional two groups of 15 mice each were infused subcutaneously with either the purified antibody preparation (Group 3) or physiological saline (Group 4). After 60 minutes, the 2 groups of 15 mice receiving an intraperitoneal infusion were challenged intraperitoneally with 1.3×10⁸ cfu of S. aureus strain 19636. Similarly, the 2 groups of 15 mice receiving a subcutaneous infusion were challenged subcutaneously with 1.3×10⁸ cfu of S. aureus strain 1477 to test for cross-protection against challenge by a different S. aureus strain. Mortality and/or lesion size was recorded for 5 days and the livers of all mice were removed post-mortem, homogenized and plated to determine the number of S. aureus present as a measure of systemic infection. The Kaplan-Meier survival curves (FIGS. 5 and 6) show the protective effect afforded by the infusion of antibodies from mice vaccinated with the S. aureus proteins expressed during iron restriction. Although the difference between the infused and control groups for the ATCC 19636-challenge groups was not significant (p=0.076, log-rank test), the liver of the single mouse that died within the antibody-infused group at Day 1 was cultured on blood agar to determine the absence and/or presence of the challenge organism (S. aureus). The culture derived from this mouse was negative for Staphylococcus and showed no growth on the blood agar plate or culture medium. In contrast, the livers of the mice that died within the placebo group, were all positive for the presence of Staphylococcus, in fact, pure cultures were obtained on each blood agar plate derived from the livers of these mice. While the liver data do not preclude the possibility that the mouse that died within the antibody-infused group died of S. aureus infection, the infection was not systemic, as it was in the placebo group, and the mouse may have died for other reasons. Censoring of this antibody-infused mouse death results in a significant difference between antibody-infused and placebo treatments (p=0.015, log-rank test). The data for the cross-challenge, where mice were infused with antibody generated after vaccination with ATCC 19636-derived proteins and challenged by S. aureus strain 1477, also showed a protective trend. Between 7 and 14 days post challenge, all mice in the infused and non-infused groups began to develop necrotic skin lesions. However, gross examination of mice clearly revealed a visible delay in the formation of an observable lesion as well as the severity of the lesion between the groups. Infused mice developed lesions more slowly as compared to non-infused control mice which developed lesion faster then infused mice and at a greater degree of severity. The infused mice healed faster then non-infused mice. This was clearly evident between 21 and 35 days post challenge. Gross examination of mice at 35 days post challenge showed that non-infused mice were severely disfigured and revealed a greater degree of scarring. In fact, many of these mice lost normal posture, in that they appeared twisted in appearance, in contrast to infused mice that did not develop nearly the extensive scar tissue and/or disfigurement as illustrated by the twisted appearance that the non-infused mice developed. Overall, these data suggest that interperitoneal infusion of antibodies raised against S. aureus iron-induced proteins can both protect against and limit the severity of S. aureus infection.

Example 10 Evaluation of a Vaccine Composition Derived from Staphylococcus aureus in a Chronically Infected Dairy Herd

A commercial Dairy herd having a history of chronically high somatic cell counts attributable to Staphylococcus aureus was chosen for the evaluation of a vaccine composition as described in Example 1. The criterion for establishing vaccine efficacy of this experimental study was: 1) decreased incidence of clinical mastitis caused by Staphylococcus aureus among vaccinates compared to non-vaccinated controls, 2) improvement (i.e., a decrease) in somatic cell count among vaccinates compared to controls and 3) decrease in culture positive isolation rates of S. aureus between vaccinated and non-vaccinated controls. Blood will be taken at the time of the first vaccination (day 0) and again at 3 and 6 weeks post initial immunization. Injection site reactions or systemic reactions following vaccinations were monitored throughout the study. In addition, bulk tank milk samples were cultured and quantitatively enumerated to determine if there was a decrease in the number of CFU of Staphylococcus aureus cultured after vaccination.

Three of the Staphylococcus isolates derived from the chronically infected lactating cows within the herd-were grown under conditions of iron-restriction and non-iron restricted conditions as described in Example 1. The three isolates were designated TTX101, TTX102, and TTX103. Extracted samples were examined by SDS-PAGE to compare banding profiles between isolates. Identical banding profiles were observed among isolates examined; the compositions made from each isolate included proteins having molecular weights of 87.73 kDa, 80.46 kDa, 65.08 kDa, 54.53 kDa, 37.37 kDa, 35.70 kDa, 34.91 kDa, 33.0 kDa and 31.83 kDa. These proteins are the same molecular weights as previously described in Table 10. In addition, when comparing the isolates identical banding profiles were seen with those proteins that were expressed in all conditions that were not regulated by iron: 150 kDa, 132 kDa, 120 kDa, 75 kDa, 58 kDa, 50 kDa, 44 kDa, 43 kDa, 41 kDa, and 40 kDa. These results were consistent with previous observations. One isolate designated as TTX101 was chosen as the isolate to manufacture a composition to be used in this study.

Example 11 Vaccine Preparation of Staphylococcus aureus (TTX 101)

A composition was prepared as described in Example 1 using the isolate TTX 101. The composition included proteins expressed under iron deplete conditions having molecular weights of 87.73 kDa, 80.46 kDa, 65.08 kDa, 54.53 kDa, 37.37 kDa, 35.70 kDa, 34.91 kDa, 33.0 kDa, and 31.83 kDa as well as non-metal regulated proteins having molecular weights of 150 kDa, 132 kDa, 120 kDa, 75 kDa, 58 kDa, 50 kDa, 44 kDa 43 kDa 41 kDa, and 40 kDa. The immunizing composition derived from strain TTX 101 was used to prepare the experimental vaccine by emulsifying the extracted protein suspension (400 μg total protein per milliliter) into a commercial adjuvant (EMULSIGEN, MVP Laboratories, Ralston Nebr.) using an IKA Ultra Turrax T-50 homogenizing vessel (IKA, Cincinnati, Ohio) to give a final dose of 800 μg total protein in a 2.0 ml injectable volume with an adjuvant concentration of 22.5% vol/vol. The vaccine was administered subcutaneously 2 times at 21 day intervals.

Example 12 Experimental Design and Herd Vaccination

Eighteen days before the first vaccination all lactating cows enrolled in the study (N=80) were tested for S. aureus by standardized aerobic bacteriological culture methods by culturing individual milk samples derived from each lactating cow. In addition, the Somatic Cell Counts (SCC) were enumerated by the Dairy Herd Improvement Association using standard methods. Fourteen of the 80 cows were clinically diagnosed with mastitis and were culture positive for S. aureus. The remaining cows (N=66) tested negative for S. aureus. The eighty cows were equally divided into two groups designated as group-1, vaccinated (N=40) and group-2, non-vaccinated (N=40). The fourteen clinically diagnosed Staphylococcus positive cows were equally distributed between both groups so that each study group contained 7 cows with clinical mastitis. The average SCC between groups prior to the first vaccination was 203,219 in the non-vaccinated controls compared to 240,443 in vaccinates (not statistically different p=0.7).

Eighteen days after the first sampling all cows in group 1 were vaccinated subcutaneously in the upper right shoulder with 2 ml of vaccine as described in Example 11. Ten days after the first vaccination milk samples were taken at this time period by the DHIA for the enumeration of somatic cells from each individual cow. Milk samples were not bacteriologically tested at this time period for determining the presence of Staphylococcus. The difference in the SCC between groups at this time period was 125,241 (vaccinates) compared to 196,297 (controls). This was a 36% difference in the number of somatic cells between vaccinates as compared to non-vaccinated controls. The difference in the SCC between the controls and vaccinates at this sampling period was not statistically different (p=0.5). The lack of statistical difference in the SCC between groups at both sampling periods was due to the large variation in individual SCC between cows. The injection site of each vaccinated cow was also examined at this same time period. None of the cows examined showed any adverse tissue reaction at the site of injection by physical examination. In addition, there was no measurable loss in milk production due to vaccination.

Twenty one days after the first vaccination all cows in group-1 (vaccinates) were given their second vaccination or booster. During the time period between first and second vaccination, cows in both groups (vaccinates and controls) developed teat damage due to a dramatic drop in the environmental temperature resulting in the formation of lesions at the end of the teat, resulting in the development of infected teats and potentially increasing the isolation of Staphylococcus during sampling, which was observed at the third sampling period. Twenty three days after the second vaccination milk samples were taken by the DHIA for the enumeration of Somatic Cells from each individual cow. Milk samples were also bacteriologically tested for the presence of Staphylococcus aureus. There was a dramatic increase in isolation rate of S. aureus at this time period in the cows that tested negative at the first sampling period. In the non-vaccinated controls 42.9% of these cows now tested positive for S. aureus, in contrast to the vaccinates, which only showed and increase of 35.5%. This was a 7.4% difference between vaccinates as compared to the non vaccinated controls. It's difficult to say that the improvement in the isolation rate of S. aureus in the vaccinated group was due to the effect of the vaccine alone. One cannot overlook the difficulty in obtaining clean milk samples from cows that had teat damage which could increase the potential contamination of the milk by S. aureus when obtaining the sample. Nevertheless, there was a significant difference in the average SCC between vaccinates compared to controls. The average SCC of the vaccinated group was 222,679 compared to 404,278 somatic cells as measured in the control group. This was a 44.9% difference between vaccinates when compared to the non vaccinated controls. It's interesting to speculate that the difference seen in the SCC between these groups also coincides with the difference in the isolation rate of S. aureus between groups. However, due to the large variation in SCC between individual animals and the small sample size of the experimental trial in the number of animals the difference was not statistically different (p=0.28).

At this same time period the injection site of each vaccinated cow was examined for any adverse tissue reaction that may have been caused by the vaccine composition. None of the cows examined showed any adverse reaction at the site of injection by physical examination. The vaccine compositions appeared to be highly tissue compatible and caused no measurable loss in milk production after each vaccination.

Monitoring of the cows is continued by measuring SCC and milk samples for the presence or absence of Staphylococcus aureus. Some of the cows of each group are vaccinated a third time at 42 days after the second vaccination. There appears to be a difference favoring the use of the vaccine composition for decreasing somatic cell counts and controlling infection caused by Staphylococcus aureus. Further monitoring includes serology based on antibody titers to the vaccine composition, changes in milk production in vaccinated cows due the improvement in health, and decreased SCC of vaccinated animals compared to non-vaccinated cohorts. In addition, other experiments are conducted to investigate the protective index of the vaccine based on dose response following challenge with a virulent S. aureus.

Example 13

Since the molecular weights of the proteins among the different S. aureus strains have been demonstrated to be similar and since heterologous protection was observed in the mouse challenge study, we sought to determine if the proteins sharing similar molecular weights in FIG. 1 were similar proteins. The technique chosen to characterize the proteins was matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (MALDI-MS). A portion of the composition was resolved using SDS-PAGE as described in Example 1, and the gel was stained with Coomassie Brilliant blue to visualize the proteins.

Materials and Methods

Excision and Washing.

The gel was washed for 10 minutes with water twice. Each protein band of interest was excised by cutting as close to the protein band as possible to reduce the amount of gel present in the sample.

Each gel slice was cut into 1×1 mm cubes and placed in 1.5 ml tube. The gel pieces were washed with water for 15 minutes. All the solvent volumes used in the wash steps were approximately equal to twice the volume of the gel slice. The gel slice was next washed with water/acetonitrile (1:1) for 15 minutes. When the proteins had been stained with silver, the water/acetonitrile mixture was removed, the gel pieces dried in a SpeedVac (ThermoSavant, Holbrook, N.Y.) and then reduced and alkylated as described below. When the gel pieces were not silver-stained, the water/acetonitrile mixture was removed, and acetonitrile was added to cover until the gel pieces turned a sticky white, at which time the acetonitrile was removed. The gel pieces were rehydrated in 100 mM NH₄HCO₃, and after 5 minutes, a volume of acetonitrile equal to twice the volume of the gel pieces was added. This was incubated for 15 minutes, the liquid removed, and the gel pieces dried in a SpeedVac.

Reduction & Alkylation.

The dried gel pieces were rehydrated in 10 mM DTT and 100 mM NH₄HCO₃, and incubated for 45 minutes at 56° C. After allowing the tubes to cool to room temperature, the liquid was removed and the same volume of a mixture of 55 mM iodoacetamide and 100 mM NH₄HCO₃ was immediately added. This was incubated for 30 minutes at room temperature in the dark. The liquid was removed, acetonitrile was added to cover until the gel pieces turned a sticky white, at which time the acetonitrile was removed. The gel pieces were rehydrated in 100 mM NH₄HCO₃, and after 5 minutes, a volume of acetonitrile equal to twice the volume of the gel pieces was added. This was incubated for 15 minutes, the liquid removed, and the gel pieces dried in a Speed vac. If the gel was stained with coomasie blue, and residual coomassie still remained, the wash with 100 mM NH₄HCO₃/acetonitrile was repeated.

In-Gel Digestion.

Gel pieces were completely dried down in a Speed Vac. The pieces were rehydrated in digestion buffer (50 mM NH₄HCO₃, 5 mM CaCl₂, 12.5 nanograms per microliter (ng/μl) trypsin) at 4° C. Enough buffer was added to cover the gel pieces, and more was added as needed. The gel pieces were incubated on ice for 45 minutes, and the supernatant removed and replaced with 5-2 μl of same buffer without trypsin. This was incubated at 37° C. overnight in an air incubator.

Extraction of Peptides.

A sufficient volume of 25 mM NH₄HCO₃ was added to cover gel pieces, and incubated for 15 minutes (typically in a bath sonicator). The same volume of acetonitrile was added and incubated for 15 minutes (in a bath sonicator if possible), and the supernatant was recovered. The extraction was repeated twice, using 5% formic acid instead of NH₄HCO₃. A sufficient volume of 5% formic acid was added to cover gel pieces, and incubated for 15 minutes (typically in a bath sonicator). The same volume of acetonitrile was added and incubated for 15 minutes (typically in a bath sonicator), and the supernatant was recovered. The extracts were pooled, and 10 mM DTT was added to a final concentration of 1 mM DTT. The sample was dried in a SpeedVac to a final volume of approximately 5 μl.

Desalting of peptides. The samples were desalted using a ZIPTIP pipette tips (C18, Millipore, Billerica, Mass.) as suggested by the manufacturer. Briefly, a sample was reconstituted in reconstitution solution (5:95 acetonitrile:H₂O, 0.1%-0.5% trifluoroacetic acid), centrifuged, and the pH checked to verify that it was less than 3. A ZIPTIP was hydrated by aspirating 10 μl of solution 1 (50:50 acetonitrile:H₂O, 0.1% trifluoroacetic acid) and discarding the aspirated aliquots. This was followed by aspirating 10 μl of solution 2 (0.1% trifluoroacetic acid in deionized H₂O) and discarding the aspirated aliquots. The sample was loaded into the tip by aspirating 10 μl of the sample slowly into the tip, expelling it into the sample tube, and repeating this 5 to 6 times. Ten microliters of solution 2 was aspirated into the tip, the solution discarded by expelling, and this process was repeated 5-7 times to wash. The peptides were eluted by aspirating 2.5 μl of ice cold solution 3 (60:40, acetonitrile:H₂O, 0.1% trofluoroacetic acid), expelling, and then re-aspirating the same aliquot in and out of the tip 3 times. After the solution has been expelled from the tip, the tube is capped and stored on ice.

Mass Spectrometric Peptide Mapping.

The peptides were suspended in 10 μl to 30 μl of 5% formic acid, and analyzed by MALDI-TOF MS (Bruker Daltonics Inc., Billerica, Mass.). The mass spectrum of the peptide fragments was determined as suggested by the manufacturer. Briefly, a sample containing the peptides resulting from a tryptic digest were mixed with matrix cyano-4-hydroxycinnamic acid, transferred to a target, and allowed to dry. The dried sample was placed in the mass spectrometer, irradiated, and the time of flight of each ion detected and used to determine a peptide mass fingerprint for each protein present in the composition. Known polypeptides were used to standardize the machine.

Data Analysis.

The experimentally observed masses for the peptides in each mass spectrum were compared to the expected masses of proteins using the Peptide Mass Fingerprint search method of the Mascot search engine (Matrix Science Ltd., London, UK, and www.matrixscience.com, see Perkins et al., Electrophoresis 20, 3551-3567 (1999)). The search parameters included: database, MSDB or NCBInr; taxonomy, bacteria (eubacteria) or Firmicutes (gram-positive bacteria); type of search, peptide mass fingerprint; enzyme, trypsin; fixed modifications, carbamidomethyl (C) or none; variable modifications, oxidation (M), carbamidomethyl (C), the combination, or none; mass values, monoisotopic; protein mass, unrestricted; peptide mass tolerance, between ±150 ppm and ±430 ppm, or ±1 Da; peptide charge state, Mr; max missed cleavages, 0 or 1; number of queries, 20.

Results

The result of this search was a mass fingerprint for each protein present in the composition is shown in Tables 2, 3, 4, and 5.

The complete disclosure of all patents, patent applications, and publications, and electronically available material (including, for instance, nucleotide sequence submissions in, e.g., GenBank and RefSeq, and amino acid sequence submissions in, e.g., SwissProt, PIR, PRF, PDB, and translations from annotated coding regions in GenBank and RefSeq) cited herein are incorporated by reference. The foregoing detailed description and examples have been given for clarity of understanding only. No unnecessary limitations are to be understood therefrom. The invention is not limited to the exact details shown and described, for variations obvious to one skilled in the art will be included within the invention defined by the claims.

Unless otherwise indicated, all numbers expressing quantities of components, molecular weights, and so forth used in the specification and claims are to be understood as being modified in all instances by the term “about.” Accordingly, unless otherwise indicated to the contrary, the numerical parameters set forth in the specification and claims are approximations that may vary depending upon the desired properties sought to be obtained by the present invention. At the very least, and not as an attempt to limit the doctrine of equivalents to the scope of the claims, each numerical parameter should at least be construed in light of the number of reported significant digits and by applying ordinary rounding techniques.

Notwithstanding that the numerical ranges and parameters setting forth the broad scope of the invention are approximations, the numerical values set forth in the specific examples are reported as precisely as possible. All numerical values, however, inherently contain a range necessarily resulting from the standard deviation found in their respective testing measurements.

All headings are for the convenience of the reader and should not be used to limit the meaning of the text that follows the heading, unless so specified. 

1-50. (canceled)
 51. An enriched polypeptide having immunogenic activity and a mass fingerprint when digested with trypsin that includes all polypeptide fragments present in a mass fingerprint of a reference polypeptide when digested with trypsin, wherein the reference polypeptide has a molecular weight of 37 kDa as determined by electrophoresis on a sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel and is expressed by Staphylococcus aureus ATCC strain 19636 when incubated in media comprising 2,2′-dipyridyl at a concentration of 1600 μM and not expressed at a detectable level when grown in the media without the 2,2′-dipyridyl. 